Naruto of the Fragments
by Solomon07
Summary: Adventure/Drama/Romance We all know that the Juubi came directly from the Shinju. But the question is, was the Shinju always there,or was it created by a being far stronger? This is the story of a single being is unknowingly caught in the middle of the Kyuubi's Sealing. What can one person do to affect the Shinobi world? What affect will this being of old have on our resident hero
1. Prologue

_**I do not own Naruto, but all original characters are mine**_

_**Prologue**_

* * *

…It hurt. It hurts. It hurts oh so much. He feels so cold. Even with the blood pumping through his veins. Even with the flickering amethyst flames. No matter what he does, he still feels oh so cold. He still feels the hollow pain rip through his chest as seconds of his life continue to pass. It hurts. It's cold. He feel's…empty. Oh so empty.

Empty blue eyes staring off into space, he eyed his crystal kingdom with an apathetic gaze. The flickering flames seemed so dull in color. The full moon above seemed oh so dark. Its pearly white surface shifting into a black abyss the moment he stares. Staring motionlessly on his obsidian throne, he hummed a broken tune. A distorted smile making its way to his lips, he looked over the horizon with a broken purpose.

The crystal trees had lost their illumination luminescence. The fields of grass had all but cracked revealing their fragile state. The clear red rivers had darkened to an endless sea of black. The flora wilted. Eye's drifting towards the sky; he looked at the grandfather clocks that ticked away through the cracks in the air. Seven Clocks he had started with, and only one had continued to tick away. The remaining six whose hands had stopped stayed silent as if telling him something.

It was a starless night with a cold pitch black moon. This once beautiful land had now lost its supernatural glow. It was so cold. It was hurting oh so much. Hollow tear's streaming down his cheeks, he continued to ponder. When did things go wrong? Why did they go wrong?  
Was it because he was selfish? Was it because he was weak? Or was it because it's because it was his fate? Humming in thought, his broken grin dropped to a thin line. Ear's twitching, his attention drifted to his surroundings. The cracks surrounding his castle growing ever so slightly, but to him, it was to be expected. This world was connected to his will.

His will have long since been destroyed. He had nothing. He had no one. He was just a single being cursed to live a hollow life forever remembering the thing he's done. The mistakes he's made. The people's he's killed. Maybe this was karma? Maybe this was just fate taking back what he's taken. Thinking on that, he snorted.

_ How long has it been? How many days have passed? How many months? How many years? Even with everything I've done. Even with everything I've accomplished. All the power I have received with my blood, sweat and tears. Why is it that everything I do is always for naught?_

_ Why am I still so weak? Why do those I wish to protect always leave? Why is it that no matter how fast I run, I'm always seconds too late? Just when I thought I have arrived just in time. Just when I thought that I've built enough safeguards. Why do they always break? Why do I always have to see them like this?_

_ Why do I have to continue to see their blood being spilt? Is this my destiny? Is this my fate? Is this the consequence of my existence? Am I destined to just watch while they fight? To stay confined while they get hurt! If this is so, then the fates can be damned. They can drown along with my destiny and disappear into the void._

_ I will not be their puppet. I will not let them control my strings. I will not allow myself to be controlled by their decisions. I am an anomaly. I am something that exists. Yet I am something that doesn't. I am but a figment of the world itself given form. Yet I am just a monster created by the darkness of the living. Be they humans, animals. But __are they residing in the seven hell's or the heavens above. I am the monster that everyone fears._

_ Nothing is certain in this world of darkness. There is no hope. There is no light. There is only the will to survive. There is only the will to tight. To continue their existence in the plane of the living, we all fight. There is no reconciliation. There are no heroes._

_ The hearts filled with darkness. The hearts filled with hatred. They are far too many. But yet even with the world covered in black. There is a single speck hidden within its depths. There is a single star that continues to brighten as time goes on. No matter how many times it may flicker out, its radiance only grows stronger._

_ In my world of loneliness, that flicker can be considered my hope. That speck of light can be considered my only conciliation. I'm so cold. I was so very, very cold, but just as I was about to break. Just as I was about to go deeper where there is no return. She saved me. Just by existing she brought me warmth. Just by smiling, for the first time I felt I wasn't an abomination._

_ She looked at me no with disgust, but with love. Just by being my side she gave me a purpose. She was so frail. She was so filled with emotion that it nearly blinded me. I wanted to protect her. For the first time since my creation, I wanted to protect instead of destroy._

_ I will protect her. I will keep her from the darkness. Even if I have to banish the very shadows themselves into the void! Even if I have to stain myself in blood so deep that I can see nothing but red! Even if I have destroy or save the world! So be it! I am a monster. If I see a chance, I will take it. I will not hesitate to cut down my foes. I will continue on fighting. I will fight, and fight and fight until I see the end. Until I see the rays of the heavens shine down on this corrupted world._

_ If the fates deem my existence as a punishment! If they deem that I will save nothing that I come to love! Then they will face my blades. Everything that gets in my way will be sent to the void. Anything that blocks my path will be crushed. I am nobody's puppet. My destiny and fate is mine to rule. I am an abomination. And I will get what I want!_

Letting out a bitter chuckle, he wearily sank into his chair. Almost closing his eyes, he leaned his head into the ridge of his right arm. His fingers slowly running through his calm snow white hair, he wrapped his left arm around himself. That was indeed what he had promised all those years ago. It was meant as a vow. A vow that meant that if it indeed was his fate to be alone, that he would go against it and obliterate any and all obstacles from existence.

…what a fool he had been. What a weakling he was back then. The vow was broken oh so many times. So many people lost because of his weakness. So many lives destroyed because of his inaction. SO many loved ones lost because he just too, fucking, relaxed. He was to slow in reacting, and that was one of his many mistakes. But his biggest mistake…

His biggest mistake was that he should have just killed off all his enemies damn the consequences. He should have done what **he** wanted. Not what was better for others! But was best for **him!** He should have kept the children close to him. He should have defied his King. He should have actively tried to destroy the enemy. So many things…there are so many things he should have done…but didn't…and for that, he paid the price.

His loved ones were gone…never to seen again. His friends and the very kingdom he built from the ground had gone against him. Picking up his head, he hummed a broken tune. But did he blame them…no, no he did not. The thing's he's done ever since then…while odd too many…were only pieces to a greater purpose. His friends had realized his purpose…and they were appalled.

Rising from his seat, he began to walk forward. His boots ringing against the black crystal floor for each and every step he took. They tried to convince him to stop. The wanted him to reconsider, saying that this was not what they would have wanted. Coming to a halt, he stared out the window and stared into the horizon. An overbearing tree that stretched on into the broken sky was what he saw.

Right in front of it was a bone white structure built on its sturdy edges; six spiraling towers surrounding a large crater in its center, stone paths interconnecting the towers roofs. All connecting to a single point; a large circular platform made of tinted glass reaching out at a fifty meter radius, a seventh spiraling tower underneath holding it up in the air. The tower leading down to a large black and white castle that melded together at some points to an ever shading grey.

That was what it looked like before. Now…the crater had been filled with crystal clear water with the castle underneath the seventh tower submerged in the lake. Looking on, he disappeared in a swirl of shadows.

Reappearing on the circular platform, he took a small look at it before turning to look ahead. Eyeing the magnificent tree, he watched as a variety of red, blue, and purple cherry blossoms swayed down from above. The tree stood at a height of several hundred meters in the air with its very trunk being several dozen thick. But what caught his attention were the fragile amethyst crystals that clung to its healthy brown bark.

This was the main purpose of its all. This tree will show them the testament of his power. His friends are no doubt working together with his enemies to stop his madness. And like he said before…he doesn't blame them. Because that would be the exact same thing he would have done if he was in their situation. His plan was absolutely ludicrous, but it is needed. With four of the seven in his grasps, it will only be a matter of time before the last come to him.

Walking forward towards the edge of the platform, he stared at the large gathering of solidified crystals in front of him. "Would you approve of what I'm doing?" He asked breaking the silence. Reaching out with his hands, he traced his fingers along the crystals clear surface. "Would you hate me for what I am about to do?" Staring at her as if expecting an answer, he bowed his head in thought. A bitter smile making its way to his lips, "Of course not…"

"…you never really hated anyone really. Always the type to forgive and move on…at east right after you give them a smack down." Giving a brief chuckle at that, it stopped as soon as it came. Staring at her with determination in his eyes, he nodded. "But whether you approve or not…this needs to be done." Eyeing the snow white haired woman encased in crystal, he gave her a broken smile. "…you wanted all four races to get along…but that's impossible. But don't worry…I will force them to, and we'll all be a family again." Ear's twitching, his eyes hardened. "All of us will be together again…I'll make sure of it!"

* * *

_**(?)**_

* * *

Shaking his head lightly, he looked around holding in his breath. The full moon above being hidden by the dark clouds in the sky; something he was really grateful for. Sighing in relief after a couple of seconds, he pressed his back against the tree sliding down along its bark. Setting down his hands on the grass, he pulled his legs in close as his heart thumped against his chest.

They haven't found him yet, that was good. Shaking his head back and forth, he felt something warm and sticky slide down his forehead. Wiping him arm against it, he stared at the blood wiped onto his arm. Rubbing his arms together to try and fight off the cold, he turned around and stared at the tree behind him. His cerulean blue eyes spotting a crack along its bark, he digged his small fingers into it and tugged. Pulling off the bark; it revealed an opening just small enough for him to squeeze through.

Smiling lightly, he squeezed his small form through pulling the bark behind him to hide its entrance. Even though he couldn't really see anything, he knew that it was spacious. The small hole underneath the tree was big enough for him to crawl around and deep enough for him to hide in. The entrance's blind spots just in case someone found it.

Scratching his cheek lightly, he closed his eyes. Hoping to get in some sleep from the people after him; he hugged his knees close and buried his head into them. Stiffening slightly as the sound of shouting began to reach his ears. He forced himself to stop shaking as their footsteps came ever so closer. Tears streaming down his cheeks in fear as the seconds passed by.

Hearing the footsteps halting near his tree, he held in his breath as the sound of hateful muttering echoed throughout the clearing. He didn't know how many of them there were, but he didn't want to know either. All he wanted was for them to just go away and to never come back.

After a couple of agonizing minutes passed, he heard the footsteps and muttering's slowly moving away. The sounds slowly disappearing completely after a couple of seconds, he decided to wait for five more minutes until they were gone. The first time he came out of his hiding place when he thought they had left, they were simply waiting for him to come out in silence.

Needless to say he was once again shocked at how brutal they could be to a child. He was only two for god's sake and they practically tortured him. Shaking his head once more, he knew that he was going to have to stay here for the entire night. The chances of his getting hurt again were too great, and he was terrified of what they might do to him this time.

That led to the same question that pops into his head every single time at this day of the year. Why? Why do they hate him so much? Why do they hurt him? Why doesn't anyone help him? Why do they blame him for murdering hundreds of people? He doesn't remember doing that? Right now he's only five.

Why don't his parents help him? Why don't they save him? Can't his father stop them from hurting him? Or does he even notice him getting hurt at all. Does his mother notice the blood stained clothing that layered in a pile on the corner of his room. Do they even notice the fact that he's not even in the house with them celebrating his sister's birthday? Or how about the fact that it's also his birthday as well? For that matter…do they even love him?

Drying his tears, he sniffed. Tightly closing his eyes, he began to slowly relax as a strange sound bean to play in his ears. The gentle melody soothing his fears and sadness like it does whenever he goes to sleep. He doesn't know why only he can hear it, but he didn't really care. To him, it meant that it was for him and only for him.

Whenever he would cry himself to sleep, the music would always play in his ears; the abyssal tone never telling him if it was a boy or a girl singing. Pouting slightly as he began to doze off, he wished he could meet the owner of the voice. It sounded so caring and loving to him. It filled him with the warmth that his family never provided. So he really wished he could meet the person and ask him/her a question.

To ask her why; why does she sing for something like him? Murderer, monster, abomination, demon; that's what the people of the village always call him, so he wanted to know why she seemed to show him love where everyone else shows him nothing but hate. And just like always, his shivering began to stop as if a warm blanket embraced his form, protecting him from the cold.

Opening his eyes slightly, he wiped the tears away from his eyes and smiled. Closing them once more, he stifled a yawn as he senses dimmed. He was so tired. Dozing off, he fell asleep with a comfortable smile on his lips. The darkness surrounding his form in a protective blanket as a small silhouette appeared on his shoulders. Fading out of existence not a moment later when the gash on his forehead slowly closed up.

Mismatched red and blue eyes tapping a set of bars in front of him, unflinchingly grabbing onto the piece of paper attached to the cages lock. Eyes narrowing at the ghostly spark zapping his fingers. Just hold on for a bit longer. Soon you won't have to feel alone anymore, so wait. Behind him blood red eyes continued to sing.

* * *

_**(Morning)**_

* * *

Yawning, he tiredly opened his eyes. Tears pricking at the tips as he stretched out his arms and legs, he craned his neck around lazily. Blue eyes blinking as he noticed that he wasn't in his room. Crawling forward, he tried to recall last night's events and nodded blankly in remembrance.

It was his birthday last night, and surprisingly enough. His father and mother actually remembered to bring him along outside, not that he would thank them for that any time soon. It was Natsumi who reminded them after all. And in the end, the disappeared from his sight leaving him to the mercy to the villagers. On the very day that they celebrated yet mourned. The same one where they truly try to kill him with all they have damned the consequences.

Shaking his head, he noticed that there were small rays of light seeping through the cracks of the tree. Was it morning already? Standing there for a couple seconds, he pressed his ear against the bark. Calming his breathing, he listened in to whatever footsteps might be near. His senses reaching out to feel anyone near, the outline of the entire forest forming within the depths of his mind; all in all it looked like a two dimensional map.

It showed even the smallest blade of grass within his range flowing along with the wind. He doesn't know why he has it, but it told him when anyone with negative intent was near so he was not complaining. It saved him from a beating who knows how many times. He liked it.

Letting a small smile break through his tired lips, he saw the green outlines of birds and deer's stalking throughout the forest. Foxes, squirrels, and even that funny cat that scratches the kids that tried to capture it. He liked the cat; it always showed him the best places to hide. Keeping his eyes closed, a small pulse of energy radiated from his being. Echoing throughout the clearing as color began to brighten his mind.

Showing him the sparkling green leaves and brown doe like eyes of the deer's. The chirping of birds reaching into his ears and the purring of a cat making him voluntarily giggle. He liked the forest much better than the village. It was peaceful and colorful. It never tried to hurt him, and the animals always tried to protect him for some reason.

Whenever he was getting chased by the villagers, he would always make a run for the trees. Be it this one of the forest with the very big trees that was always the first place he thinks of to hide. After a couple of minutes of silence, he pressed his hands against the loose piece of bark. No one was anywhere near the forest, so it was safe for him to come out.

Squinting, he looked around as the rays of sunlight poked against his eyes. Opening them after a while, he rubbed the tears out of his eyes and crawled out of the hole under the tree. Smiling in relief, the sun's rays shined down on his showing his form. Standing at a height of '2'10'', his small malnourished body shook a he took a step forward. His baggy grey shirt slightly torn and worn stopping just above his knees. He clutched tightly to the hems of his shirt showing his brown shorts.

His naturally tanned skin slightly faded a bit due to his preference with staying indoors with the lights off. Makes it easier to hide from the mobs; besides, who would be dumb enough to stalk down his father's home and demand his son to be handed over to be killed. He may have been neglecting him, but that doesn't mean he hates him…hopefully.

Shaking his head at the thought, he scratched the dried flakes of blood off his wild golden blond hair. The tips being a blood red color. Curiously looking around with a smile on his face, he giggled as the blades of grass tickled his bare feet. His blue eyes brightening with life as he walked around the forest with what might have been joy, his eyes flashing red momentarily before returning to their normal color.

Looking up, he notices the strange orange color in the sky. Turning around, he saw the sun rising up from the sky line. Lighting up the sky in different shades of light; the orange being his favorite. Representing the joys and bright filled happiness that he thought would consume the world outside the village walls. After all, the only thing he could feel was the bitterness and hatred within the walls. So he hoped that it was different outside.

Walking around the forest, he caught the eye of several curious animals that he paid no heed to. Even though he wanted to pet them, he figured out later on that the best way to catch their attention was to ignore them. To make them act on their curiosity.

After a couple minutes of silence though, he noticed that he was covered in dirt and twigs. Stray dried flakes of blood on his clothes and arms. Shaking his head lightly, he turned to his left towards the trickling sound of water. Before he was about to take another step though, he felt a weight press down on his shoulders pushing him down to the ground. Turning around he giggled as a brown fluffy tail wagged around his nose.

Getting back up, he picked up a plump brown striped cat and scratched under its chin. Smiling happily as Tora purred in his arms. Turning around, he hugged the cat carefully against his chest and walked on. Heading towards the sound of trickling water getting ever so louder with each step he took.

After a couple of minutes, he walked out into a clearing. His expression brightening at the crystal clear lake sparkling in front of him; he couldn't help but stiffen slightly at the presence of another. Turning around, he took a slow step back as his blue eyes met deep grey. Her raven black hair tied up in a ponytail that stopped just below her shoulders. Her bangs stopping just above her eyes as she continued to stare curiously at him; standing at a height of '5'04'' she practically towered over him.

She was wearing a plain dark blue sleeveless shirt and a knee length white skirt. Her legs dangling of the edges of the lake splashing into the water; she noticed he sharp eyes and heart shaped face with a bit of baby fat still there. Not that he knew what that was of course, but she looked a couple years older than him. Probably around twelve at least, but that wasn't why he was afraid.

Even though she's not an adult, he was scared. She didn't appear on his radar. Everyone appeared on his radar, yet she didn't. He's right in front of her yet he still can't pick her up on his senses. What's going on? Taking a slow step back, he was shocked to see her smile at him. A tint of red brightened his cheeks at that; no one ever smiled at him. And when they do, it always promises pain and hurt later on. But there's nothing but warmth in her smile. And whats more she was smiling at him.

Tilting his head to the side curiously, he hoped that maybe she could be his first friend. His thoughts brightening at the thought, he took a small shy step forward as he greeted her with his own albeit shy grin. Needless to say he did not expect her disappear into thin air. Nor did he expect for him to somehow end up on her lap with her back against a tree. Her small delicate hand pressing her fingers through his hair.

"You really are an adorable creature you are." She giggled lightly. "Tell me, are those whisker marks real?" She asked curiously tracing the six marks on his cheeks. Three on each one that made him look a bit like a fox along with the shape of his eyes. Nodding slightly in confusion, his cheeks flushed red as she pulled him into a hug, resting her chin in his hair.

"Tell me, what's your name?" She asked lightly.

Stiffening slightly that didn't go unnoticed by the girl, he hesitated. "…Naruto." He replied meekly.

Staring down at him coolly, she smiled. "Well my name is Cecilia." She said ruffling his hair slightly. "Now then, whats a three year old likes you walking alone in the woods in the morning?"

"I'm six." He muttered lightly. Calming himself down, his blush receded as he crawled out from her lap. Turning around, he stared at her in curiosity. Barely noticing the snow white bordering blonde streak running down her cheeks; he stared at her in silence.

"Is there something you'd want to ask fishcake?" Cecilia asked with a quirked brow.

"My names Naruto, not fishcake," he pouted. "Why are you being nice to me?" Naruto asked curiously.

"I highly doubt that being rude come's first when meeting a five year old boy that looks three." She retorted, frowning inwardly at her words. _'…Something that's not really supposed to happen naturally.'_ Her eyes flickered towards the dried spots of blood littering his form before returning to meet the boy's gaze.

"But no one's nice to me." He said making her lips quirk down momentarily.

"Where are your parents?" She asked. "Wouldn't they be worried about you staying out alone?"

"Not really, Father is at work maybe. And mother is too busy taking care of Natsumi." Naruto shrugged.

"Oh, so you have a baby sister?"

"No, she's my younger twin."

Why was she asking so many questions? Is this what people usually do when they meet? Why was he sensing sadness coming from her? Why was she sad; he didn't know? Can he cheer her up? Tilting his head slightly, he moved forward a patted her head. Tracing his fingers along her hair as the feelings of sadness began to disappear. It made him feel warm when she was doing it to him, so maybe it would work for her.

"What are you doing?" She asked pulling his hand away from her hair.

"You were feeling sad." He answered simply. "I don't like it when a friend is sad, so I did what you did to me."

"Friend," She raised her brow in amusement. Seeing him shy back from her slightly, she sighed as she pulled him into a hug. "The moment I told you my name was the moment I became your friend fishcake." She giggled. Feeling him stiffen in her arms, she sighed as the toddler hugged her back albeit hesitantly. Tears dripped from his cheeks and onto her shoulders as he cried.

Patting him on the back, her lips quirked down to a frown as she inwardly sighed. Ironic isn't it, to think that the first person to see her would remind her so much of him. From the looks of his life so far, she can guess that Naruto's was similar to his except for a single difference. Naruto kept that innocence where he lost it, something that would change if this continued as it did. "Now then, as my first decree as your friend you will take a bath." She smiled lightly as he looked up towards her in slight confusion. Seeing her honey-sweet smile, he couldn't help but feel a shiver crawl down his spine. "It's bath time fishcake; prepare to take a dip." And Tora the cat simply watched the proceedings with a growing interest as she licked her paw.

* * *

_**(A couple hours later)**_

* * *

Girls are scary! That was the first thought that popped into his head when Naruto waked into his room, though the bright grin on his face said that he was happy with it. She may be slightly touched in the head, but she was his first friend in a while. Though she was prone to petting him for some reason that was lost to the boy; maybe it's something girls do.

Thinking about it for a couple seconds, he shrugged telling himself that girls were weird. Closing the door behind him, he stared silently into the grey room in silence. The cobwebs on the upper corner of the room gathering and layers of dust gathering on what little furniture he had. Which basically consisted of a desk, bookshelves, and his bed; all in all it wasn't much.

The last time he's been in the room in actuality was somewhere around a month ago actually. As for why, the mob that attacked dropped him in the middle of a forest. A forest with very, very big trees at that; the animals were friendly though. Pity he couldn't take one home as a pet, but even though his parents are neglectful. He was pretty sure that they would notice a twenty foot tall white saber tooth tiger in their backyard. It would also serve to protect him from whatever mobs that tries to hurt him.

King Kitty was much better company than the villagers. Shaking his head slightly, his grin dropped to a thin pressed line as he walked towards his bed. Holding his breath, he grabbed onto the sheets and pulled. Closing his eyes in the process as a cloud of dust exploded into the air. Throwing his sheets around in the air, he closed his eyes shut as the dust began to blow away. After a couple of minutes, he breathed out opening his eyes.

The dust gathered in the air settling down on the ground. Coughing a bit from the dust remaining in the air, he looked out towards his window. The sun was still up in the sky, but he didn't really feel all that energetic right now. Hearing his stomach growl, he looked at his room and decided to clean it later. Since last night was his birthday, he wondered if there was any cake left.

Walking out of the room, he dusted himself off and walked down the hallway and into the kitchen. Silence meeting him from the empty room. Opening the fridge, he frowned slightly at the lack of food I it. Sighing he looked up and saw a piece of cake positioned at the very top. His frown deepening, he turned around and pulled on a nearby chair. Climbing onto it, he stretched his arms forward and found that he still couldn't reach it.

Pouting, he was about to give up when he felt a hand on his shoulders. Turning around, he saw nothing but a wisp of blue mist. Tilting his head curiously, he poked it only to shiver slightly. It was cold, but not really a bad thing. Frowning slightly as it dissipated, a fresh fruity aroma filled his nose. Turning around, he saw the dark chocolate cake with blue and orange frosting sitting on the table.

Freezing for a moment, he slowly turned his head around to the fridge. The cake was no longer there, but on the table instead. What's more, it looked like it was freshly baked to. Staring off into space for a couple of seconds, he shrugged. Fresh cake was good cake.

So with a vulpine like grin, he climbed down the chair and closed the fridge. Dragging the chair with him to the table, he climbed back on and stopped. His eyes focused on the lit candle's that weren't there before. Smile dropping for a moment, he felt a cool hand once again on his shoulders but didn't turn around. _'__**Make a wish!**__'_

Lashing his head around, he saw the same blue mist from before but no person. _'Who…'_ After a couple seconds of silence, he turned back to the cake with a bit of confusion filling his mind. Not even bothering to react the words written the cake in purple frosting. _'__Happy Sixth Birthday Naruto; sighed A.- frowning at the words, he wondered who would bother wishing him of all people happy birthday._

Hearing a sad chuckle in the recesses of his mind, he played it off as a trick of the mind and sat down. Blowing out the candles, he made a wish and started digging in. The silence emanating in the house growing as the seconds go by. The light in the room seemingly dimming until nothing could be seen but him and his cake. A small frown marred his face as he continued to eat.

* * *

_**(?)**_

* * *

"…**You know, I think you just made thing's worse!**" an abysmal voice deadpanned.

Sharp red eyes opening lazily, she didn't bother turning around to meet the voice. Narrowing her eyes at the seal in front of him, she glared slightly as they sparked against her fingers. "You may be right about that…" she muttered. "But he needs to know that someone cares." Whether it'd be them or that girl that he just met? Speaking of girl, her eyes narrowed slightly into slits. She reminds her of someone, but she can't put her finger on whom.

** "He really reminds you of him, doesn't he?" **It pondered.

"…you should know." She mumbled. "After all, you have most of _his_ memories in you." Hearing it breathe out a sigh, she stared at the seal with much more detail. "Then you should also know what solitude can do to a person. I never really knew due to be surrounded by their love, but I was always the closest to understanding him none-the less." Giving him a bitter smile, she traced her fingers along the seals markings. "But in the end, I never really knew that even with me there…I never really knew how lonely he felt…or how much pain he's gone through."

** "…He wouldn't have blamed you." **It spoke quietly.

"Your right…he wouldn't." She whispered wearily. "But that doesn't mean I won't."

Staring at the girl impassively, the great being closed its blood red eyes and his reply. The memory of a small boy surrounded by darkness; appeared in the depths of its mind. There was nothing there but the darkness. At first there were specks of light that slowly began to appear, but as fast as they came. The blinked out of existence as the boy grew older. The hole in the boy's broken heart growing and growing in size within the dark abyss. Naruto's being overlapping with the boy's every couple of seconds as tears ran down their cheeks.

** "In a way you may be right…" **It started with an impassive voice. **"But unless something happens, this will just be a repeat of the past." **Half-lidded dimming eyes gazed into the darkness, as if searching for something. **"…and this time…"** it stopped sending the unanswered message towards her.

Without turning around, her eyes flashed purple as she gripped tightly onto the edge of the paper seal. Hers fingers sparking with ethereal golden mist as a flash of black and white filled the area.

* * *

_**(Back with Naruto)**_

* * *

Staring outside his window, he let out a small grin as the moon shined down from the sky. The sound of mumbles and happy whispers stemmed from outside of his room. His parents had long since come home…well Natsumi and Mother did anyway. Father came home just an hour before, but it's to be expected with his line of work.

Anyway, he couldn't really wait until tomorrow came. Cecilia said that she would be there waiting for him. Giggling lightly at the thought of his new friend, he just smiled. Turning around, he stared at his now dust free room with a frown. Even though it was clean…it still felt empty. Everything in this room feels so empty. Hearing happy murmurs increase from outside of his room, he hesitantly took a step forward.

Walking uncertainly towards his door, he opened it slightly ajar. Turning on the lights in the hallways, he walked closer to the murmuring sounds. Coming closer to the kitchen, he took a peek in the room and saw three familiar people talking around the dinner table.

A small red-headed girl with tanned light skin and blue eyes was talking to an older version of herself with light purple eyes. A blond spiky haired male with long bangs eating with a smile on his face. Walking out into the open, he simply watched as they continued eating. After a couple minutes, he spoke. "Um…mama…papa…" He muttered nervously.

Seeing that they didn't hear him, he decided to walk closer…only to take a step back. What would he say? What would they say? Shaking his head lightly, he began to slowly walk away. He was sad that they never noticed. That they didn't feel their forgotten son enter to room…or leave it minutes later.

Dragging his feet back to his room, bangs overshadowing his eyes, he opened the door slowly as he walked into his grey room. Closing it behind him, he climbed onto his bed and hid himself under his covers. The empty feeling that came from his room returned with a force. This time, he couldn't help but feel empty inside as well.

Burying deep into his covers, he closed his eyes tightly. Ignoring the slight rumble of his stomach, he tried to go to sleep. There are so many things he wants to know? There were so many things, but little to no answers being given. Taking a deep shaky breath, heard a familiar tune ringing in his ears. Calming down slightly, he began to fall asleep. The thoughts of meeting his new friend tomorrow brightened his thoughts for a moment.


	2. Chapter 1

_**I do not own anything of Naruto but all original characters are mine**_

_**Chapter 1**_

* * *

_No…no. It's so dark. It's so very dark. Why can't he see anything? Why can't he feel anything? Why is the only thing surrounding him darkness? Looking around shakily, he stared into the deep dark forest in trepidation. It no longer looked so warm and inviting as it had before. It felt completely dark and threatening. Deep red eyes stared at him from every corner of the woods as he continued to walk._

_ But whenever he tried to catch them, they always disappeared from view, only to return when he turned his back. He couldn't see them, but he could feel their gazes burning holes into his back. Dark whispering's and mutters reaching his ears and tears dripped down his cheeks._

_ Jumping at the sound of crackling thunder, he stopped as something wet plopped down his cheek. Looking up, he frowned as the rain slowly began to pour down from the dark cloudy sky. Pelting him with non-stop droplets of water, he continued on his slow pace._

_ He was scared. He felt so very scared right now. Where's mama? Where's papa? Where's Natsumi? The perverted sage! The masked dog! Any of them! Why aren't they here? Why aren't they ever hear for him when he needs them? Why are they never here when he's scared? When he's lonely!_

_ Jumping in fright at the flash of lightning striking nearby, he screamed as the booming sound attacked his ears. His eyes blurring and skin sizzling from the heat discharged from it. Coughing roughing, he winced as he got back to his feet shakily. Never recalling the moment he fell to the ground, but wincing in pain as blood seeped down from his elbows. _

_ Sniffing, he waited for his vision to clear. His ears boomed painfully until they returned to normal after a couple of minutes. Shaking his head, he walked forward. Cecilia told him that they were going to play hide and seek. She said that if he could hide until tomorrow then he would win a prize. She said it was something that was absolutely magical, but what did she mean by that._

_ The game started more than a couple hours ago, but he started to get scared. The sky was darkening and he could have sworn he heard shouting in the distance. He felt something bad grow in his heart and had hard time breathing. He had hidden in the hole under the tree. The one he was hiding in before he met Cecilia three years ago. He never had a hard time breathing then, but he couldn't help but find the place closing in on him._

_ After another hour, he had begun to grow worried. The tightening of his heart getting tighter as the seconds goes by. He was scared. He's still scared…but he was worried. He was worried for her. Where was she? Why can't he find her? Where? Where are you Cecilia?_

_ Shaking his head, he sniffed as he choked back a sob. Looking around, thunder sounded from above making him drop to the ground in fright. Shaking like a leaf, he pushed his hands against the ground only to stop. Pulling back his hand, he felt something sticky. Despite the rain, the dark color looked familiar. Turning around, he saw a trail of the dark sticky substance leading further into the dark forest._

_ Frightened, he just walked forward, following the dark trail that began to look very familiar to him. After a couple seconds passed, he looked back at his hand and started to increase his pace. His heart tightening painfully as he recognized it. His steps slowly increasing to a jog, he started running outright, slipping from time to time on the muddy ground here and there._

_ Scrapes and bruises littering his small form as he continued to run. Coming to a slow stop, breath panting from the exertion he emitted. He stared wide eyed at the clearing in front of him. The muddy trails leading to a dark puddle that surrounding a battered tree._

_ Slowly walking forward, he broke out in another run as he slid across the mud. Tumbling through the ground, he forcefully came to a stop. Getting back on his feet, he dragged himself towards the tree within a rushed pace. Panting as he stood over the pale form with her back against the tree._

_ Shaking slightly, he stared at her pale form in silence. Eyeing the red spots covering her form, he shook as he couldn't really feel anything coming from her. Shaking her shoulders lightly, he bit his lip as she didn't respond. Looking around, he got back onto his feet. Grabbing her shoulders gently, he tried to heave her on top of his back. Struggling to take a step forward, he fell forward onto the ground twisting his ankle in the process. _

_ Yelping in pain, he turned around to see her positioning her back to the tree. A tired smile forming on her lips as she struggled to look at him. Dragging himself around, he ignored the pain in his leg and crawled towards the tree. He was about to try again only for her to grab him by the wrist._

_ Shaking, he turned towards her only to see her smiling at him. She looked so pale now. Her skin felt so cold and stiff. They lacked their usual softness and warmth. Tears kept on spilling from his cracking eyes in spades. Why? Why is she bleeding? Why is she hurt? Why didn't she hide with him if she knew what was going to happen? Seeing her lips part, he froze. "I guess…you won…" she chuckled faintly._

_ "Even now…you always tried to make a joke of things, don't you?" He whispered. "Why didn't you hide with me? Why didn't you tell me what was happening?" his voice broke._

_ "You…were always…so stiff." She giggled. "So…joking around is a must!" A smile made its way to her lips. "Besides…would you have listened to…me?" Hearing nothing but a choked sob, she frowned._

_ Stretching her arms out, she pulled him into a quick hug. Pressing his head into the crook of her neck, she combed her fingers through his hair. Slowly stiffening as Naruto began to shake. "…you're still…so small," she giggled lightly, blood sliding down from the edge of her lips. "…it would be…so easy for…me to bury you in a…mountain of cuddles."_

_ Listening to her speak, he simply continued to shake as he half-heartedly tried to pull away. "I don't like it…I don't like any of them-ttebayo" he muttered under his breath._

_Ignoring his mutterings, she simply smiled knowing who he was talking about. "…but, you are so…cute when you…try to escape from them." She giggled. "It just makes…me want to hug…you more."_

"_Who hurt you?" he asked with more power in his words. Forcing himself out of her grip, he stared into her sleet grey eyes with an emotion all too familiar to her._

_Sighing slightly, her eyes began to dim slightly as the seconds went by. Without answering his question, he pulled him into another hug, then without warning. A crack formed below her eyes._

* * *

_**(?)**_

* * *

_Slamming her fists against the bars, she growled out in anger as the remained where they were. Not a single thing out of place as she continued on attacking it. Whips of shadows rapidly moved through as the darkness strikes the sealed cage one after another. Eye's flashing amethyst, her arm imploded in a burst of darkness as she slammed it against the bars. Recoiling in shock as her form was sent flying to back in the air. Flipping, she landed perfectly on her feet slashing her arms forward. The sound of clashing iron echoed in the room._

"_You know you could help a bit here?" she snapped irritably into the darkness. A blood red eye lazily opening in response as it stared at the gates keeping them both caged. _

"_**If that seal is still strong enough to hold off your attacks, what makes you think mine'll do any good?" **__the voice raised a metaphorical brow at the girl._

"_Wow, never before would I'd think that'd be you speaking." She muttered sarcastically. "What happened to all that pride of yours? Did the flea's you contracted tear that apart, fur ball!?"_

"_**There's a thin line between pride and plain arrogance vixen. I am simply stating a fact." **__The voice bit back. __**"Besides, I don't have fleas. And as big as they'd need to be for me to even notice the insects, I'd simply use you as a back scratcher." **__It chuckled maliciously at the thought._

"_Try it, and I shave off your coat in the process." She snapped irritably. "And the point being that even any help would come through now. You've been sealed twice before, so you should know about this stuff."_

"_**You know, if that had come from someone else I would be inclined to skin you like a banana and devour your chewy insides." **__It muttered with disappointment in his tone. __**"But alas, I'm afraid that would simply give me indigestion."**_

"_Yeah, I'm feeling the love." She huffed. "Can you at least give me some idea's here? Like you said before, if something doesn't happen soon then it will simply be a repeat of the past." She exclaimed with urgency in her tone. "So please just tell me what I can do to get him out of this situation."_

_** "Instead of trying to break the seal pup, why don't you try making use of it?" **__It chuckled in amusement. __**"I would help, but my power has been permanently sealed in the red haired chibi. Not that she would be able to make use of it anyway."**_

_ "Yeah…I'm not really following here." she muttered only to yelp as something smacked her upside the head._

_**"I'm really beginning to wonder whether or not you're related to that man if your idiocy is genetic." **__It muttered._

_ "Yeah, yeah; he was a genius, I know. A broken one, but a genius none the less and I'm simply his idiot of a sister that's only good at making people bow down before my beauty." She exclaimed sarcastically. "So help me my pet."_

_**'If the situation wasn't as serious as it was, I would smack her for calling me her pet, but alas. All things must come to an end.'**__ It thought regretfully. __**"The kids blonde idiot of a sperm donor designed this seal to have my soul-which is basically all I am at the moment-be absorbed into the kits. Hence the red tips in his hair." **__It explained in exasperation. __**"If you can't get the bigger picture, then I might as well skin you to save me from your idiocy. Indigestion stay damned." **__It growled in annoyance._

_ Ignoring the fur coats idle threats, she noted what he said and sighed. Breaking the seal would have to come later; let's just hope that this works before it's too late. In the corner of the room, blood red eyes snapped open with interest before fading into the darkness. A blue spark returned in its place._

* * *

_**(Five years later)**_

* * *

Yawning slightly, he rubbed his eyes in annoyance. Glaring up at the sun, he wondered whether or not he should try and put it out. The idea was so very tempting…but a voice quickly flushed that down the drain. _"Drowning the sun in darkness is impossible Naruto." _A voice sounded in his head. _"Believe me…I've tried." _It muttered in annoyance.

"Must you really retort to every idea I have Ashe." Naruto muttered childishly. His cerulean blue eyes flashing with exasperation, he pouted at her response.

_"Of course my little fishcake,"_ She chirped happily. _"After all, most if not all of your ideas involve doing things impossible to both man and god." 'Well __**he**__ could have done them, but Naruto's not suicidal…now.'_

"Name one!" He challenged.

"_Well…the fact that you once proclaimed that you would break that rather creepy…" _ Ashe shivered at the thought. "_Genjutsu used by those two in spandex and ended up sealing that scarred memory within the deepest pits of your mind might be one."_

**"Would have been easier if you just killed them and be done with it," **A deep voice yawned tiredly.

"No matter how tempting that might have been, that meant I would have to come within a three-hundred foot radius of them." He chuckled.

**"Wow…that's a bit cruel." **The voice muttered in a shocked tone. **"I'm so proud!"** It laughed, only to yelp in annoyance a moment later.

_"Kurama, corrupting the youth is a no-no. Don't make me get the water bottle." _Ashe scolded irritably.

**"Try it and I'll shove it up a place the sun don't shine vixen." ** Kurama growled in dangerously.

_"Fine then, I'll get __**two**__ water bottles just for you, but…" _Eye's widening dangerously, a psychotic giggle escaped her lips as she grinned._ "I think you; my dear pet, need to be disciplined on how to treat a lady!"_ Giggling; sparks clashed between her and the pets eyes.

**"Be right back kit…"** He seethed. ** "I have a monkey to skin."** After a couple of shouting and insane giggling moments later, Naruto couldn't help but chuckle in amusement. Sitting up, he stretched his back sighing in contentment at the sound of a few pops. Relaxing his neck, he swung his legs over the edge and slid off the branch and onto the ground with a soft thud.

Looking around the area, he closed his eyes in irritation as the sun shined down on his eyes. Standing at a height of '5'06'', his blond spikes had calmed slightly as he grew up. The tips of his spikes being a blood red color with snow white streaks lining along the spikes like a slitted eye. He sported a sleeveless black shirt with a crystal spiral. A tear shaped blue pendant hung around his neck by a small black chain link, an orange vest worn over the black shirt with many zippers on the sides. Blue vein like lines follow the hems of his vest. Regular brown cargo pants with red lines going down the sides leading to the spikes of purple ice shown at the bottom before stopping at the regular purple and blue shoes. His tanned skin no longer looking as pale as undernourished as it did all those years ago.

After standing around for a couple of seconds to get his bearings, he took a sharp turn left. Heading deeper into the canopy of trees, he smiled in relaxation. Closing his eyes, an invisible pulse of energy radiated from his being. A small two dimensional map formed in his head. The outline of every type of wildlife, tree, and blade of grass formed in his mind. After a couple of seconds, it disappeared when he saw that it was only the surrounding wildlife in the area.

Walking out into a clearing, his smile tightened a bit before relaxing at the sight of the tombstone lined up against a familiar tree. The crystal clear lake was as beautiful as he remembered it. Sighing, he walked towards it a crouched down to his knees. Tracing the outlines of the monument with a fond yet sad smile, he hummed in thought. Crystal flowers sprouted from the ground around it displaying an almost mystical scene. His eyes wandering towards the name etched into its surface. Cecilia. My First Truest Friend; a small blush marring his cheeks at the he read the words scribbled below. My First Love…

Oh sue him; he was nine for peats sake. He was pretty sure that she would be crushing him in another of her bone cracking hugs if she had been able to read it though. She loved to do that to things she deemed as adorable. It didn't help that he still looked like a toddler until his eighth year. Besides…he didn't really want to deny the words scribbled on the monument. Shaking his head in amusement, he waved his hands over the ground in front of it. Smiling as little green sprout-lings emerged from the dirt. Clapping his hands together in a praying motion, he muttered a few words before disappearing in a swirl of water and wind. Crystal flowers sprouted from the ground at that moment.

Reappearing far away from the gravestone in the middle of a dark alleyway, his smile dropped to a lazy frown. The sounds of chattering people pricked at his ears as he made his way out into the street. His ears ignored the hushed whispers coming from the crowds of people who immediately noticed him. But that's all they did. Whisper…

After that dreadful day five years ago, it was when he his tears had all but froze. Crying in front of them wouldn't have done anything but give then the pleasure of seeing him weak and helpless. But he wouldn't be their punching bag anymore, so ironically it was also the same day he met Kurama and Ashe.

He's doesn't really want to go into a flashback in a street filled with insects, so he'll leave that for later. Long story short, the attacks and mobs began to decrease to near zero when the people who attacked him had started to disappear. Scoffing at their idiocy, he couldn't help but pout childishly inwardly when they stopped.

Not because he want to interact with their sniveling selves…oh no. He would have simply lost his Guinea pigs on new techniques he wanted to try out. If he got rid of infestations at the same time who was he to complain. In terms of the pecking order it would be them, then the dirt, the worms that live in the dirt, the plants, the animals, and him…quite simple really.

_"You know…if I didn't know you as much as I did now I would believe that you had a serious spiked pole up your ass." _Ashe sighed dramatically.

_'Isn't Kurama chasing you right now?'_ He twitched in irritation.

_"Fur butt tried, but right now I appeased his furry highness with a giant rabbit he is now currently chasing." _ She shrugged casually before giggling insanely. _ "It won't hurt to mention that I altered it to the point that once it's captured it would double in size with razor sharp teeth, ripped muscles, a human like torso with two more ripped arms with a hint of fire breathing to the mixture though. You should here him screaming in surprise just about…now!" _ And as if on cue, the screaming commenced with a string of violent colorful curses sent Ashe's way while she simply cackled like the insane jackass he is. _'You should have added the ability to multiply once hit!'_ Naruto grinned sadistically. Ashe stopping her psychotic laughter for a brief moment, stopped, and hummed in agreement.

_"I have taught you well my young apprentice." _Ashe nodded sagely crossing her arms under her shapely sized chest. _"Now I'll be gone for a moment, I've got rabbit stew to make! I mean c'mon, who can claim that they fought a giant man eating rabbit THAT BREATHS FIRE for Kurama's sake!" _She exclaimed excitedly.

'_I think you got the phrase wrong.'_ Naruto deadpanned.

_"Nope," _She chirped. _"I'm pretty sure I'll have to go for his sake because I forgot to mention that he was chasing more than one…probably ten but I lost count while cackling like the mad man I know I am. See ya!" _And with that she was off screaming about rabbit stew. Chuckling good-heartedly, he wondered whether or not giving the woman a piece of his mind to shape as she wishes was a good idea. Granted, Ashe could have done that anyway with or without his permission being who she was, but he wasn't fond of the idea of being jumped by acid spewing electricity charged thirty meter tall kittens the moment he visits.

Scratching the back of his head in amused irritation, his ears perked up at the sound of lecherous giggling. Frowning, he turned around to notice that he was around the hot spring area. The steamy mist ascended up into the air from the other side of the bordered fence. Taking notice of a mane of white spiky hair tied into a ponytail, his eye twitched as the large man continued on giggling perversely as he stared into his peephole into the hot spring.

The man was wearing a red vest with dark green baggy kimono shirt and pants. The bottom of the pants tucked into a mesh ankle protector and dark fishnet shirt underneath the dark green stopping at his wrists. His knuckles protected by a tan steel guard. Red lines running down his eyes with a small wart on his nose. His headband sported small horns on the front with the symbol for Sannin on the front. Most likely a pathetically stupid expression marred his face at the moment. How would he know what he'd look like when he's facing the man's back?

Well he had the unfortunate meeting with the man called Jiraiya due to him being his and Natsumi's godfather. Well…Natsumi's anyway. The man never really bothered trying to get to know him due to some stupid prophecy crap. Ashe utterly disliked the man for being a super pervert and thinks of his research as demeaning to woman everywhere. SO, needless to say he wouldn't regret doing this.

As a malicious glint sparked in his eyes, he smirked as he kicked the man's back from behind and into the fence. Well more like phasing through it due to his interference…and into the woman's side of the hot springs. His screams of bloody murder and mercy being music to his ears as he calmly walked away.

Chuckling lightly, he felt a wave of immense approval pulse in his being and smiled. A small flush making its way to his cheeks, he ignored the small chuckling from a certain pelt. Stopping for a moment, he hummed a soft tune while looking around the street. Ignoring the insect's glares**-Kurama stifled a reminiscing chuckle while Ashe huffed -**he pondered on the reasons for the villager's hatred for him. Something he had figured long a couple years back now that he thought about it.

When he had been cornered into an alley, he was about to readily prepare the illusions**-"Liar!"** **Kurama snorted-**to make them run around like headless chickens when one of them called out something different than his usual nicknames. Yondaime's Disgrace; that was indeed a new one that had caught his attention, so he did something anyone else in his position would have done.

He cleanly cut their tendons making them drop like the bugs they are, then while they were begging for mercy, he started showering the walls with blood with a sadistic smile on his lips. Those cut were still alive though due to the wounds only cutting the skin. He just made it look like he killed them to increase the illusion of the innocent boy he knew he was deep inside.

**"Innocent my ass,"** Kurama muttered.

_'Oh hush you.'_ Naruto admonished him earning an affronted growl. Now where was he…ah, he was just portraying himself as the innocent angel he knew he was deep inside. After only one was left al—conscious, he used his absolutely fabulous persuasion skills to brutally rip the information out from his vocal cords.

Deep in his mind, Kurama could only stare. Biting back a snort, he grinned. **"Honestly, I thought it was a bad idea giving him that book…but then I'd be lying."** Breaking out in a fit of snickers, he ignored the scathing glare sent his way by the woman next to him.

_"Oh do shut up pet." _She groaned in annoyance. Maybe she should have given him her twin's story instead? Thinking on it for a moment, she shivered. Yeah, bad idea! There's no need to give the hyperactive brat information on weapons of mass destruction. ...Wait, her story has a lot of people who are basically weapons of mass destruction...

Back with Naruto, he never noticed the villagers giving him a wide berth. But the dangerously sharp smile on his lips simply widened as he looked up towards the Hokage Monument. The testament of all the Hokage's in the village now and past. They had hated him for holding Kurama's soul, but that wasn't the reason why they actively hunted him.

They hunted him because of his passive nature. They hunted him because he decided not to be a shinobi. They called him a disgrace. The called him weak. They only viewed him as a stain to their precious **Yondaime's **legacy. They simply used the fact that he held Kurama's soul as an excuse to justify their **holy** actions. Stating that it was their **duty** to **purify** their hero's** son…**yeah, safe to say, **he wasn't pleased.**

Snorting, he stopped for a moment noticing that he was no longer walking in the street. Staring at the trees around, he simply did the first thing that came to mind. Shrugging, he continued walking with a passive look on his face. He never noticed the wilted flora that trailed behind him.

After a couple minutes of harmless walking, a smile had begun to make its way back to his lips. Ear's twitching, he tilted his head to the side curiously before walking ahead. Just as spotted a clearing up ahead, a flash of green halted him in his tracks. A look of absolute horror making its way to his paling face as a familiar bellow echoed into the sky.

**"YOOOOOOUUUUUUTTTHHH" **

_"RUN NARUTO, FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY, RUUUUNNN!"_ Ashe screamed hysterically in the back of his mind.

By the time she finished, Naruto was already speeding through the woods. Sweat pouring down his skin as his heart continued to ram against his chest. After the screams of**-shiver's-**youth ended, he thought he was safe until he leaned back on a tree. A small clicking sound reaching his ear, his expression fell to one of abstract horror. _'DAMN YOU TEN-'_and then he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

In another area, a bloody blob of goo on the road twitched once, twice, and trice times before rising to his feet. Jiraiya of the Sannin groaning in pain only to stop as his jackass-who-ruined-his-research senses were tingling. Whoever the stupid troll was, he/she was no doubt in terrible agony right about now. Cackling as justice was served, he was about to turn around when he noticed something. He was still in the hot springs…and unfortunately there were woman inside it…Kunoichi woman.

Grumbling under his breath about sadistically cute Kunoichi's, he suddenly grinned when his pervert-getting-slaughtered senses were tingling. But that was only for a brief moment, and with that matter done, he went back to struggling against his bindings. "This is cruel and unusual punishment Ten-chan." Naruto hummed to himself. "Either you just love to torture my sexy ass, or you just want it for yourself." Hearing a silent slink, he looked up ignoring the kunai stabbed into the tree behind him right next to his ear. "Forgive me for my impudence oh beautiful and sexy goddess for this mortal has shamed your gracefulness so."

Steel-grey eyes narrowing in irritation, she burst in a fit of giggles after a couple of moments. "You know, I would be inclined to believe you if you hadn't been staring at the sun."

Looking down, he faced her and grinned. "Oh contruer my sweet weapon mistress, your beauty is simply so radiant that it even outshines the sun with your determination and will alone." Hearing her giggle more, he grinned in amusement. "Now can you please untie me from this tree? I swear it's getting way to close for comfort." Wiggling around, he showed her a look of horror that made her shake her head in fond exasperation.

With a flick of her wrists, the ropes binding him to the tree dropped to the ground. Nodding in appreciation, he stared at her in the eyes and grinned. Ten-ten was a brown haired girl that he met a while back when wandering the surrounding forests. He was in a bit of a…slump back then, so a girl who didn't treat him as…

Shaking her head, he buried those thoughts away. Anyway, Ten-ten had her brown hair tied up into chinese-style buns on either side of her head with short fringe-bangs falling over her forehead protector. She is currently wearing a pink sleeveless qipao-style blouse with red trimmings and yellow fastening. The last of her attire being dark green pants with blue shinobi sandals. Other than that, there is also her light olive skin toe and heart shaped face to consider. Other than that, Ten-chan was a cute girl for her generation.

"So...where are the clones?" Naruto asked eyes shifting back and forth around the area.

Rolling her eyes, she grinned. "There not here," She said reassuring him. "They just left one of their challenges a while back, so you should be safe for the time being."

Snorting, he muttered about never being safe around them. Noting that there was something missing, he scowled. "So where's your other 'teammate'?" He asked with a raised brow. "You know; the one with the twenty yard nuclear spiked lava rock up his ass!"

Twirling a kunai around her fingers, she huffed. "Neji is having clan training right now, so he wasn't able to come."

"And because of that you decided to plant transportation seals all around the training ground to bring in some poor soul!" She simply grinned innocently at him in response.

"I just wanted to fill in the empty space left by my very mean teammate! Is that so wrong?" She asked with a pout making Naruto stare at her with deadpanned expression. After a couple seconds, she huffed. "Oh fine, since Neji wasn't here to suffer with me, I decided to bring in some poor fool-"

"Namely me," Naruto interjected blandly.

"-to suffer there Eternal Genjutsu with me instead," She finished ignoring his earlier interruption. Grinning insanely, she tossed the Kunai in the air a couple times as a mad glint entered her eyes. "You're not going to leave your dear friend here to suffer alone are you?" Naruto simply stared back at her in response.

"Woman, you've got to get your priorities straight!" He was going to say more, but the quick streak of black that passed in between his legs stopped him. Ear's twitching, he felt the ground around them rumble as screams of youth began to enter the air.

Ignoring the raging laughter bellowing inside his skull, he hummed in forced resignation and prepared for his doom. "All of my hate Ten-chan, I am so giving you all of my hate right now Ten-chan!" He cried dramatically.

"I love you to Ruto-chan!" Ten-ten chirped with sadistic glee.

* * *

_**(A couple days later)**_

* * *

Staring up into the sky in silence, cerulean blue eyes dimmed. The clear night sky had been completely devoid of stars and clouds. Closing his eyes, he jumped down from his branch and back onto the ground. His mind flashed back to the graduation exam that happened earlier in the day. And as expected…his sister passed the graduation exam.

Natsumi was a girl who stood at a height of '5'05'' with her long red hair tied back into a pony-tail, her side bangs hanging freely around her heart-shaped face. She usually sported a short sleeved red kimono shirt with iron meshing underneath as well as light blue pants with strapping's tied around the leggings and blue shinobi sandals. Her cerulean blue eyes were about the only thing she shared with him with her skin tone being fair like Kushina's. He had thought about entering the Academy to get to know her better, but decided not to.

But that was fine for him; he didn't really like being tied down to anything. The only reason he's even staying in the village due to the fact that Natsumi might notice his absence. She's finally started noticing he existed when he turned ten he recalled…a year after Cecilia's death, and four years too late.

Shaking his head lightly, Natsumi must be at home celebrating her graduation with her parents and Jiraiya. He can already guess what's happening, so he didn't really need to go. It was her party, never his. So with a small smile, he turned away from the path that leads to the Namikaze estate. Fingering his pendant with a dazed expression, he disappeared into the woods.

* * *

_**(With Natsumi)**_

* * *

Giggling in laughter, she watched as her mother began to beat down her godfather. Jiraiya begging for mercy, she ignored his pleas. The stack of orange books tied together on the table being the cause of the fight. Being the pervert he is, Jiraiya though he would try to give her a full set of his Icha-Icha novels.

Turning to her left, she saw her father sighing in exasperation at his sensei's antics. "Kushina dear, I know that you want to skin the man but I still need him alive for the moment." He chuckled well heartedly. "Besides, you can always do that later. Right now we need to celebrate our baby girl's graduation."

Turning to glare at her husband for a moment, she pouted slightly in disappointment and reluctantly agreed. But not before glaring daggers at the toad sage, she huffed and walked over to the dinner table. "Hai, hai Mina-kun," She sighed. "Your right; today is a special day for our little girl. I can always torch them later along with ero-baka"

"No respect I tell you." Jiraiya groaned rubbing his head. "I get no respect what so ever. What happened to the glorious loyalty between Master and student Minato?" he exclaimed dramatically.

"That was before you tried to turn my daughter into a pervert." He deadpanned.

"Oi, I'm not a pervert brat…" The toad sage huffed. "I'm a-"

"Super Pervert, we know already." Natsumi frowned. "But that doesn't make it any better for you."

"No respect I tell you." Jiraiya sniffed. "Maybe I should come back later then seeing as I'm not wanted here. There was this excellent spot where I'll be able to find great research for my next book." He grinned lecherously. Laughing as he dodged a bowl intent on caving in his head.

"You know that you'll always be part of the family Jiraiya." Minato smiled. "You taught me all I know today after all…and I'm hoping that you'll do the same for my daughter."

"You're getting Jiraiya of the Sannin to be my sensei." Natsumi exclaimed excitedly. "Does that mean that I'll be able to sign the toad contract just like you Tou-san?"

"Aha, and yet another believer has come to realize the might of the toads." He bellowed loudly before stopping abruptly. "But that's beside the point Minato, are you really sticking me with a Gennin team? I was barely able to deal with you as a gaki, but now you want me to watch over three." He raised a curious brow frowning.

"No, I was thinking more along the lines of apprenticeship." Minato said shaking his head.

"But not right now." Kushina frowned disapprovingly at her husband. "I still want her to interact with her fellow Gennin when her team is decided."

Giving his wife a reassuring smile, he nodded. "But that's only if Jiraiya agrees." He said turning to his sensei.

Giving him a calculative look, he turned to stare at Natsumi with a stern gaze. "I'm not too sure Minato. You may have been my student, but she's going to have to show me what she's got. I can't be showing favoritism…" He frowned slightly. "But tell you what; if she gets the approval of Ma and Pa, then I'll let her become my apprentice. Who knows, maybe I'll be able to have her continue my legacy." He giggled perversely.

"You turn her into a pervert and I'll turn you into a eunuch." Kushina smiled sweetly. Her hair splitting into nine separate tails like appendages as they floated menacingly in the air.

Shivering, he shrugged his shoulders in defeat. _'I may have failed with Minato but the forces of the perv's are too strong to resist.' _He cackled internally

"If that's what you think sensei, then I'll respect your decision." Minato smiled lightly. Turning around, he noticed the frown on his daughters face. "What's wrong Natsumi-chan?"

Turning to face her father, she couldn't help but frown as a thought came to play. She hesitated. "Tou-san…do you know where Naruto is?"

"Naruto," He repeated befuddled.

"Yeah, even though I was waiting for him outside the gates of the Academy he never walked out." She explained her frown deepening. "When I asked Iruka-sensei where he was, he was as confused as I was. He told me that my brother had never enrolled, but that's impossible right. Why wouldn't he want to be a Shinobi?"

Frowning slightly, his eyes tensed slightly. "Kushina-chan, did Naruto ever come home today?" He asked slowly wondering about that himself. Did he ever enroll Naruto in the Academy?

"No, he didn't Mina-kun." She shook her head. "Now that I think about it…I don't think I remember him coming home last night either."

"Why don't we check the gaki's room to see if he's in there?" Jiraiya suggested. "He's probably just gone to bed early." Seeing them nod in agreement, though albeit hesitantly. Jiraiya couldn't help but notice the stiffness in his student's movements and the worry in Kushina's eyes. Shaking his head, he got up and followed Natsumi who took the initiative. Stopping when they reached a light blue door, he hesitated.

Seeing them hesitate, he frowned. "Well. Aren't you going to open it?" he asked with a raised brow.

Turning towards the toad sage, she couldn't help but fidget nervously. "But…this will be the first time I've ever gone into Naruto's room."

"The first…?" He repeated. "You mean you never went in there to even mess with him when you were younger?" Seeing her shake her head, he turned to Minato and Kushina. "What about you two, have you ever gone into your son's room before because I'm sure I haven't."

"Now that you mention it, we've never really been inside either." Minato shook his head. "But right now is as good as any." Grabbing onto the knob, he turned it and opened the door. Flicking on the lights as the bulb flickered before short circuiting. Shivering slightly, he walked into the room with trepidation. Never has he been in a room that felt so cold. So…empty.

"Mina-kun…" Kushina's voice broke him out of thought. "I don't really think anyone has been sleeping in here." She whispered tracing her fingers along the wall. A trail of dust left behind in its wake. "Where is he?" She whispered lightly. "Where is Naruto?" her voice rose into a shrill.

Shaking his head, Jiraiya walked further into the room. Noting the lack of actual things in it, "What I want to know is why the room looks like it belonged to the dead!" he muttered.

"Jiraiya," Minato snapped. "Our son might possibly be missing or worse kidnapped by enemy shinobi and you're worried at the state of his room?" He exclaimed in shock.

"That or he left all on his own all together." Jiraiya frowned nipping his thumb, his eye focused on something in the corner of the room. Performing a couple hand seals, he ignored the two parents shocked faces as he slammed his hand onto the ground. An eruption of smoke and dust enveloping the room until Natsumi opened the window to let it air out.

Coughing, they all ran outside the room eyes slightly itchy and burning when an orange and blue blur streaked across the floor in a blur screaming. Following it, they heard water being used in the kitchen as saw an orange toad soaking in the skin. The faucet draining water out onto his head, a small blue vest laid out onto the side.

"What the hell were you thinking summoning me in such a place Ero-baka!" the toad shouted. "One thing we toads hate just as much as salt water is dust mites. Lots and lots of fucking dust mites ya pervert!"

Turning to his sensei with a frown, not forgetting Jiraiya's earlier insinuation growled. "You summoned Gamakichi Jiraiya!"

"Yes I did, it's a precaution I always take when coming here." he frowned. "Your seals can't account for everything. Heck the most they do is prevent people from coming in, not going out." He explained shrugging. "So I always have the toad's perimeter around the estate just in case telling me about someone leaving or trying to enter."

"Then what about your insinuation that Naruto ran away from home?" He growled. "Why would he run away?"

"Who knows?" he turned his eyes to Gamakichi. "But the fact is that his room barely had any essentials in it needed for a healthy teenage boy. The fact that the dust exploded as it did meant that no one was living in there for what might be possibly months if not years." He pondered keeping his patience in check.

"Ah…now that I think about it; I've only ever seen Naruto outside of the house. Sometimes I see him in the village but mostly in the forest within the village." Natsumi recalled shaking her head.

Looking back and forth between the bickering adults, the toad scratched his head in confusion. "Well, I'm not entirely sure who you're talking about but…" Kichi started. "I did see a boy around red's age staring at the house from a branch. I couldn't really make him out considering he kept on moving, but I think I saw whiskers on his face. He must have spotted me because he just up and disappeared into thin air not a moment later."

"When was this?" Jiraiya asked seriously.

"Around one…or two hours ago I think." He answered. "Now can you give me the candy you promised me, 'cause that's the only one I saw near the house."

"Jiraiya, I'm sorry to say that I don't quite believe the possibility of one of my own children running away from our family." Minato said slowly. "But the moment I bring Naruto back is the moment we'll get our answers." And with that he disappeared in a yellow flash before Jiraiya could stop him.

"Natsumi lets go help your father search for Naruto. You said that you mostly see him in the forest so which one?" Kushina asked sternly.

"The one in the north-east I think." Natsumi answered. Wondering if what Jiraiya said was true about her brother.

"Hold it you two, before you go on ahead like my fool of a student." Jiraiya huffed irritably. "I found something in Naruto's room that you need to see." He frowned pulling them out of his vest.

"Why would we need to see some old pair of dirty clothes?" Natsumi said wrinkling her nose at the smell.

"Because they belong to your brother," Jiraiya said spreading them out. "And their covered in dried blood."

* * *

_**(With Naruto)**_

* * *

Smiling lightly, his bright blues twinkled with delight. He looked on towards the sparkling lake around him. Turning around, he sat down on the surface of the lake as he faced Cecilia's monument. He was siting cross legged in the middle of the lake on its surface. Not a single ripple out of place no matter how many times he moved.

The lake itself was approximately thirty meters long and fifty meters wide. The trees surrounded the body of water in a circular ring of green if you looked at it from above. The crescent moon above shined down on the surface of the lake from above. Looking towards the headstone, he could almost swear that he could see Cecilia with her back against the tree. Waving at him happily with a beautiful smile present on her face, but it wasn't to be.

His smile shaking slightly as the phantasm disappeared from sight. Shuddering, he let his lips drop to a thin line as he forced himself to calm down. His nerves shot from the dwelling emotions inside him reacting every time he does this. Opening his eyes slightly, he watched at the water beneath him began to ripple. Rings of water stretching towards the shore one after another as his breath began to shake.

His eyes inter changing to red and blue multiple times; they shined after a couple of seconds stopping in between them. Creating an absorbing amethyst that seemed to draw everything in within its depths. His whisker marks darkening slightly too thin black lines. His pupil sinking into the sea of purple as the black in his hair seemed to shatter. His red tips lightening to a near snow white color with a single red comma in the center.

Taking in a single deep breath, he let it all out, a light singing tone that began to slowly pierce the very space around him. The wind pulsating in response as his voice began to slowly but surely deepen. The ripples in the lake below constantly appearing at several areas in the lake echoed. The edges of the rings crashing into each other as a shape began to form from the ripples.

Closing his eyes, sweat dripped down his chin as his figure tensed in exertion. Continuing as he was, the song dropped sharply in pitch. Furrowing his brow in concentration, the pitch rose slowly. The wind following its lead as it began to swirl around the surface of the lake, visible green specks of winds curving and sharply turning around him in a deep frenzy.

The song itself seemed to require no words in its melody. The music itself portraying the emotions he felt as he recalled his meeting with Cecilia. He was scared at first that she was just like everyone else, but as time passed by. Her action showed that she was completely different. Despite barely knowing him at the time, she continued to play with him despite the dangers that surrounded him.

He wasn't sure whether she knew about it or not, but in a way she was the sole reason for his change, the sole reason for him to grow. She was the one to care for him. She loved him either as a friend, or little brother figure. But she loved him none the less. She showed him warmth were as everyone else showed him nothing but indifference and scorn. She was his light…she was his star within that shined brightly within his darkness.

As the tone of the song began to take a sorrowful tone, the periodic changes of pitch and tone echoed within the area. The lake swirling underneath him as icy blue mist began to emanate from his being. The shadows accompanying the night shifting in strides, he slowly started to tense. Sweat pouring down his face in spades, dark wisps of energy began to spiral around his form. The icy blue mist sparked with deep red lights.

His song taking a darker tone, he can still smell the scent of her blood filling his nose. He could still feel the stiffness of her skin. The coldness that overtook the warmth that shined in her eyes. As the red sparks began to grow in size and volume, he recalled the glassy look overtaking her shining grey eyes. As blood red sparks surged from his being, the wind began to grow unstable. Violently twisting and turning without stop as the water in the lake began to harden. The icy blue mist dropping to arctic temperatures, he stared at the monument ahead. Cecilia's still lifeless form overlapping with its cold stone surface. The pelting rain that stormed down that night dropped from the desolate sky above. The dark tendrils of darkness growing in size as the song began to take a violent sorrowful turn.

As the seconds passed by, Naruto stopped abruptly at the memory shattered like glass. The mist and darkness disappearing into thin air as the violent winds dropped to slow gentle breezes. The lake calming down until nothing but its clear surface could be seen from above. Frowning deeply as he panted from exhaustion, sweat poured down his skin in spades. His features slowly returning to normal as he took in deep mouthful's of air. Forcibly calming himself down, he shook his head as he stared on ahead.

His eyes stopping at Cecilia's name etched into its stony surface. Closing his eyes in shame, he shook his head to try and physically get the memories out from his attention. "Sorry about that Cecilia…" He muttered with a broken smile. "I guess I'm still as weak as I was back then." He shook slightly as his eyes overshadowed his eyes.

Staring ahead with blank hollow eyes, he slowly got back to his feet. His eyes widened slightly at the small chip in his skin on one of his toes. Shaking his head, he turned to look up back into the sky. "Ne…Cecilia…why did you have to leave me alone like this?" He whispered softly before his pupils dilated.

"What are you doing here Namikaze?" His eyes darkened as he turned around. Minato standing on the surface of the lake behind him in his Jounin outfit and white short sleeved cloak billowed in the wind. The red flames rippling at the bottom

"I'm here to bring you back home Naruto!" He replied with a stern frown. "Everyone's worried about you."

Staring at him slightly, he blinked. "How did you find me?" Naruto asked genuinely curious. He set sound barriers around the lake preventing anyone from hearing his failed attempt at Empathy Orchestra.

"Well the thing is the markers for my Hirashin never disappears unless I want it to." He chuckle sheepishly. "It took me flashing around nearly the entire village to finally recall that I placed one on both you and your sister when you were babies."

Staring silently at him, cerulean blue eyes flashed a deep crimson color. "I see, well now that you've found me. I suppose that you should go and tell Kushina and Natsumi the news." He closed his eyes showing him a plastic grin. "I still want to stay here for a bit under the moon."

Raising a brow at his son's strange behavior, he frowned. Looking around he scratched the back of his head in confusion as he noticed the place they were in. "Of all the places for me to find you, I'd never thought I'd be here of all places." He smiled fondly.

"Why would you say that?" He asked restraining himself from growling.

"Well, I'm not sure if I told you this. But this place was where I upped the courage to finally confess to your mother." Brows furrowing slightly in concentration, he grinned. "If I recall, it was right by that tree over there." He exclaimed pointing to the tree behind Naruto before frowning. "But where did the gravestone come from. No one should have known of this place besides me and your mother…and you now that I think about it."

Taking a step to the side, he blocked Minato's view on Cecilia's grave with a frown. "I believe it's time for you to go." Naruto said firmly.

Frowning slightly at Naruto's tone, his thoughts turned back to the grave. "Naruto…tell me who's buried under there?"

"No one," He sighed. "It's just something that I put up for the heck of it. After all, it seemed appropriate." He smiled lightly.

"If you say so…" Minato trailed off skeptically. His eyes narrowing slightly as seconds passed between them in silence. "Why haven't you been using your room?" he asked abruptly.

Raising a small brow at that, he turned to face his _father_. "Wow…you actually found time in your busy schedule to visit my humble abode." He smiled widely. Obviously fake for anyone who can see it…well, almost anyone. "Well, as you can see I really haven't used it for around four years…one year after I made that grave if I remember correctly." He recalled as he tilted his head. "So tell me…why did you bother going into my room **now** after fourteen years of silence?"

Staying silent, Naruto thought he saw a flicker of regret pass through Minato's eyes. Raising a brow, he wondered if the man actually knew that he was neglecting him as a child. Ah, he's about to speak. This ought to be good.

"Naruto, I know you think that we don't care about you," Minato spoke slowly. "But everyone's worried about you. Your mother is worried about you. Your sister is worried about you. Even Jiraiya-sensei as unseeingly as he may be does. I'm sorry that we may have neglected you a bit, but we can simply talk it all out."

Narrowing his gaze at the man, he simply stopped himself from growling. His eye's twitching in annoyance as he saw the man talking to him like some wild animal. Taking slow deep breaths, his mind began to clear, his pupils freezing before they could change into slits. "I asked before what you want with me." Naruto sighed. "Today's Natsumi's big day. The day she graduated from the Academy and become a shinobi." He waved him off. "Shouldn't you be celebrating that fact?" Without waiting for an answer, he simply plopped himself down onto the lake.

"We are Naruto, but it wouldn't be the same if the whole family wasn't together to celebrate it." He said with a frown.

_'You've been doing so for fourteen years now…what changed?'_ Naruto thought bitterly. His eyes showing more fascination with his fingers poking at the surface of the lake than with the conversation he was having. The ripples reminding him of his situation with his family for the moment he thought with a frown. With him being at its epicenter as the waves being his family; slowly drifting away before they completely disappeared from sight leaving him all alone. "I'm sorry to say that you'll have to celebrate without me then." He lips quirked down for a moment. "The celebration is for those who became a shinobi…not for those who didn't." Diverting his attention from the lake for a moment, he met his father in the eyes. "Natsumi passed…and I was never entered into the program. So right now I need to think about what I actually want to do for my future."

Looking down at his reflection in the water, he frowned as he ripples appeared at his center; completely erasing his image from the center of the lake. Hearing a light chuckle, he turned to meet Minato in confusion. "What do you find so funny?" He asked flatly.

Smiling warmly, he looked at his son in the eye. "Well, about that. I don't even think the graduation exam would do you any justice if you're able to stand on water as naturally as you are right now." He laughed. "That requires more chakra control at the moment than any graduating student has possession of. Much less someone who never even enrolled to begin with…right Naruto?" Minato chuckled in obvious amusement.

Looking at him straight in the eye, he sighed. "Either way Minato-san, the fact that I was not enrolled into the program did not change. A Hokage should not be showing favoritism, even to their family. And promoting me, your son who's sister just graduated is a good sign of that." Turning his attention away from him and back towards the lake, he continued. "So I'm really sorry to say that doing anything of the sort wouldn't be very good for your image." He finished in the same flat tone as before.

Furrowing his brows in confusion, he knew that in a way his son was right. But the way he keeps on dodging his advancements and denying his requests seem strange. After string at him for a couple moments, Jiraiya's absolutely ludicrous-**in his opinion**-idea came to mind. "Naruto…" Minato chuckled nervously. "…you're not planning on leaving home any time soon…are you?"

Turning his attention away from the lake one last time, he fingers the pendant around his neck fondly. An action that wasn't missed by his father as Minato stared at the ornament in slight confusion. Diverting his attention away from it reluctantly, any fondness and warmth drained from his face as he stared impassively at the older blonde. "Now why on earth would you think that, **Otou-san**?" His lips upturned into a dangerously sharp smile. An unknown glint making its way to his otherwise darkening eyes.

Staring at him with disbelieving eyes, he couldn't help but shut his eyes tight to keep the regret he was feeling to show. Right now he has nobody to blame for this situation but himself. But it won't stay like this for long. He'll get his son back…one way or another. Opening his eyes, a sharp glint entering his cerulean blue eyes, he frowned. "Naruto…I think it's time for us to have a family meeting." He spoke calmly. "All of us." He tensed. Noting that his son was no longer sitting, but calmly staring at him with flat blue eyes that nearly sent shivers up his spine.

"Ya know **Otou-san**; we never really had any family spars happen between us…haven't we?" Naruto started with an enthusiastic voice. Too enthusiastic to be anything but real in Minato's opinion, but he simply nodded in confirmation not really liking where this conversation was taking them. "I mean I've seen you an **Okaa-san** spar with Natsumi-chan, heck I've even seen **Kyoufu-san** spar with her when he was actually here." Great, he's also angry with his mother and Jiraiya. "And I've been thinking…I feel a bit left **out **so why don't we have our first one **right here?**"

Yup, he's lost that fake enthusiasm. This is bad…real bad! Stopping himself from sighing, he really should have known something like this would happen, maybe he did, but focusing on the past is a good way of closing any doors to the future. Closing his eyes for a moment, he knew that any chance's to fix this would have to be with him telling him the truth; both Naruto and Natsumi on why he focused entirely on his sister. "Naruto, I think you should really calm down and think things through." Minato said sternly.

Instead of gracing him with an answer, he simply smiled. His arms hanging limply by his sides as a small screeching sound slowly pierced through the area. Tensing, he was beginning to think that he really should have brought his shinobi equipment. Because from the shocking display of wind gathering around his son's arm, it seems he's going to need it. Saving the questions of how Naruto knows Nature Manipulation to a later time.

* * *

_**(With Ashe)**_

* * *

**You sure you're not going to help the kit…" **Kurama asked licking the flesh from his claws. **"He is up against his sperm donor."**

Raising a brow at the unknown tone in the fox's voice, she snickered. "Why fur ball, is that **respect** I hear coming from you?"

Rolling his eyes at the clearly demented woman, he flicked her head with one of his many glorious tails. **"Hardly, but in human terms I can admit that the bag of flesh is one of the best in combat." **The fox deadpanned. **"That accursed Hirashin simply upgraded him from a measly worm to an annoying fly that's pops all around the place. Oh I relish the day I feel his bones between my teeth." **He cackled darkly. **"No one drops a three ton slimy toad on the mighty Kurama-sama and expects to get away with it."**

Ignoring her partner's insane laughter, she couldn't help but shake her head in amusement. "As much as hearing about how you're going to eat the man amuses me, I don't really think it's my place to interfere." See admitted with a small smile. "While my inner maternal instincts are telling me to skin the man, Naruto wants to deal with his family in his own way. And I respect him for that."

"**Respect what, his rabbit like nature of forgive and forget." **Kurama mocked sarcastically. **"You know what I do to rabbits? I scare them, crush them, hang them over lava, chew them between my spectacularly teeth covered in the blood of my past meals and enemies, skin them, eat their gooey insides, and use their bones as toothpicks." **And as if on cue, he spit out a thin crack bone from his mouth and into his third pile of rabbit bones. **"Speaking of rabbits…make them bigger next time. I'm still hungry." **His grin turned feral.

"Hai, hai; anything you wish you mightiness." Ashe bowed mockingly.

"**And don't you forget it."**

Shrugging off his superior than thou art tone, she continued smiling. "I respect him for not just giving in to his hatred Kurama." She whispered lightly. "You should know of all beings what hatred can do to a person." Hearing nothing but an annoyed grunt in response, she continued. "While he is indeed mad at him, he doesn't outright hate him. He never truly hates those that are undeserving of it. In a way…he reminds me so much of Solomon that I can't help but feel as if I'm talking right to him."

Lazily opening a single eye, Kurama stared at the woman in silence. An unreadable expression marring his face as Kurama thought about Ashe's words for a moment, wondering what exactly the woman was thinking about. Shaking his head for a moment, he made his response known by flicking a nearby rabbit bone at the female. Who simply caught it without even turning around!

"**Don't think about it too much vixen!"** He muttered lazily. **"Just do what you feel is best and don't regret your decisions. Nobody is perfect, and nobody is exactly the same. Just because he reminds you of your brother doesn't mean he is." **Flattening his ears against his skull, he yawned. **"He is Naruto…your apprentice. Don't forget that."**

Raising a brow slightly at the Kyuubi's words, her smile turned just a little more real as a sad glint entered her eyes. "Your right as always fur ball."

"**I know." **The great fox muttered. **"Now don't interrupt my sleep or I'll flatten you."**


	3. Chapter 2

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto but all Original Characters are mine**_

Just for the record, for any who caught the mistake I made when misinterpreting Ashe as either male or female...she is undoubtedly female and i have fixed the mistake. I apologize for the confusion.

_**Chapter 2**_

* * *

Ducking to the left, Naruto swore under his breath as Minato disappeared from his sight once again. Guess there **was** reason he was called the **Kiiroi Senko** before he came up with the Hirashin. He simply moved to fast for his enemies to track. The last thing they see being the yellow flash of his hair before dropping to the ground as a corpse.

Jumping back, he dodged a round house kick by a hairs breath before grabbing onto the ankle of the offending leg halting it. Gripping it tightly, he pulled at it while turning his waist. Naruto's arms quickly revolving Minato around him in circles before propelling his against the lakes surface. Eye's twitching slightly as the man up righted himself in mid-air, he sighed as Minato landed softly on the lakes surface.

Calming himself down, he stared down at the Hokage with a critical eye. From what he can gather, the man's only weapon on hand would be himself and the tri-pronged kunai he needed to come here. But so far, the Hirashin kunai was nowhere to be seen. He hasn't brought out any of his known jutsu's either. Shaking his head lightly, his eyes flashed an iridescent red before returning to their normal blue color.

Wind swirling around his arms, he noticed the flicker of green and focused. Staring back ahead at his opponent, he disappeared in a swirl of wind. Reappearing behind a tensed Minato as he swung down his left arm in a blade like motion. Frowning briefly as he blocked him with a three pronged kunai, he wondered if the man could sense the energy around his arm.

Moving back for a moment, he swung his free arm to his side only for him to dodge it. Continuing his strikes, he watched as Minato moved carefully around him and only blocked the ones that came to close to actually hitting. A brief flash of blue sparks catching his attention every time they made contact. Jumping back a couple feet, he dispersed the blades of wind around his arms in an instant.

Whipping his left arm forward as a whip of wind snapped in the air. Leaving trails in the water as it wrapped around his father's left leg. Snapping him up into the air, Naruto spun him around like one would do with a lasso. Frowning in thought as Minato temporarily dispersed the wind whip by cutting through it with his chakra coated kunai.

Seeing him defenseless in the air, he slashed him arm forward sending a crescent blade of wind at him. Without a second thought however, he used his blade to block against it at the last moment using the force of it to send him crashing along the lake. Looking briefly at his arms, he saw a spark of green outline surrounding his arm showing him the shape the wind was taking.

Wondering if Minato was able to see it as well, he sent forward several more blades of wind only for him to only to either dodge it easily or deflect it as he ran forward towards him. Wind is not supposed to be seen. The only reason he can being the fact that he guiding it along his will. So how can he?

Disappearing in a gust of wind, only the constant sound of crickets could be heard through the nightly forest. Looking around calmly, Minato's eyes narrowed slightly as he stretched out his senses. He simply waited for his son to make the next move. A pulse of energy echoing from his being as he saw the flicker of a green outline in the depth of his mind.

Slashing his arm around, a distinct clang of clashing steel could be heard in the forest as Minato blocked a strike from behind. And as the seconds go by, he continued blocking random strikes from all sides. Calmly assessing the situation despite being attacked by his invisible son, he felt his internal clock ticking as the strikes began growing more and more frequent. The strikes slowly becoming more and more unpredictable; he was forced to keep himself on a constant move less he be hit.

Blue sparks dancing off of his kunai as he continued to block the obscure strikes. Minato sent out another chakra pulse as a faint green outline closed in on him from behind. Freezing himself, he waited until the blade like shape came inches away from his neck until his eyes snapped wide open. His form instantly dropping into the lake, he grabbed a hold of the outlines legs dragging him down below with him.

Keeping a firm grip on him, he smiled lightly knowing that he won. Just as he was about to activate the Hirashin, his gritted his teeth in shock as he felt a bone crushing fist embed itself into his gut. Slamming him down further into the lake as Naruto's form appeared out of nowhere.

Keeping whatever air he still has in his lungs, he swam towards the surface as fast as he could. Only to dodge to the side as his son rocketed in a blur. Turning himself around, he watched as Naruto curved himself around in shock. The boy wasn't even swimming like a human; it looked like he was moving more like a fish right now.

Keeping a hold on his breath, he continued to ascend to the lakes surface. Just as he felt his son coming closer, he kicked his legs forward. Narrowly dodging only to grab a hold of Naruto's shirt collar from above; using his son's momentum as he pulled his back up to shoot out of the water and into the air. Without letting go, he put his son in a choke-hold as the slowly descended towards the ground. His eyes twitching in annoyance as Naruto dispersed in a burst of wind blowing him away. Was this how people felt when he used his Hirashin?

Just as he was about to touch the ground; the lake beneath him exploded in a burst of wind. Blades of wind pricking at his skin; Minato noticed several copies of his son glaring at him from all sides. Gaping slightly at the sight, he sighed in what could be considered annoyance and irritation.

Meeting his son…or one of his son's eyes in this position in the eye, he was about to speak when his nose twitched. Sneezing loudly, he reached into his coat only for a blade to slice at his right cheek. It was a light cut, barely breaking the skin, but it got the point through. Naruto didn't want him to move under any circumstances.

Shaking his head lightly, he ignored another light slash at his left cheek. "I'm really going to have some trouble with you if this is the least of your abilities." He muttered. "I'm not going to pry on how exactly you got as strong as you are today, but the one thing I am going to do is prevent you from leaving the village." Minato said firmly. "From leaving your family…"

"And how exactly are you going to do that!?" Naruto asked flatly. His brow raised in curiosity despite himself. "…and if I recall, a family is a group of people who love and care for each other. Something I recall never getting in my short fourteen years of life."

Flinching at that, he sighed. "Naruto, there were reasons for why we left you alone as we did. Reasons that I promise to explain if you come back home with me." He pleaded.

Staring at the man straight in the eye, he felt the urge to just bury the blades into him and be done with the man. Digging the blades further into Minato's skin, deep enough just to break the skin, his shoulders began to shake. Just a couple more centimeters, just a couple more and he'll be done with him. Glaring at him balefully, he closed his eyes before sighing.

Retracting the blades, the clones around him dispersed in a gentle breeze of wind. His head shaking in exhaustion as his eyes flickered. Yawning slightly, he wondered why he felt so…so…tired. Blinking away the tears, he heard a small familiar giggle reaching his ears. Craning his neck around slightly, his eyes softened in warmth as the phantasm of Cecilia smiled at him with a look of acceptance in her eyes.

_'Cecilia…I'll be back.'_ And with that he dropped forward, his father catching him in his arms. His expression showing his confusion as he stared at the gravestone ahead; he stared at the inscriptions with a frown. "Naruto…just who is the owner of that gravestone for you to give them such warmth?" He mumbled sadly. Picking him up in his arms, he heard a small jingle and stared at the pendant around his son's neck. He was tempted to open it…but he knew that he shouldn't do anything to damage his already shattered relationship. The fact that he even listened to him proved that the situation is not irreparable. Just impossibly hard to fix from the amount of hatred and loathing he saw in his eyes.

* * *

_**(Flashback)**_

* * *

_ Blinking tiredly, he yawned after a couple of seconds. Rubbing his eyes with his tiny little fists, he laid his head back down on his warm soft cushion in exhaustion. Giving off a tired smile, the little six year old relaxed as he was about to be released to the embrace of nightmare less dreams. Only to pout as he felt as someone flicked his forehead disturbing him from his newly timed nap._

_ "I'm pretty sure it's time for you to get up Naru-chan." A heavenly giggle reached his ears._

_ "I don't wanna!" he whined childishly. Sticking out his tongue at the source of the voice immaturely; he pulled up the person's shirt while ignoring the squeaked protest coming from their lips. Hiding his body inside it as he felt her trying to pull him out in vain, he rubbed his head against the flat of her bare stomach making her giggle. Giggling happily in response, he popped his head out of the collar resting his head to the crotch of her neck. _

_ Feeling a fist bop softly against the center of his forehead, he wiggled in unease at the lack of space as he turned his body around. Wrapping his arms around tightly around her, he pulled in his tiny legs into her shirt. "No way!" he yawned, affectionately rubbing his head against her neck. "I still want to sleep!" It was the first time he was able to get some rest without the horrible dreams, and he's not giving up the chance._

_ Besides, Cecilia-nee feels so warm. Wonder what these lumps on her chest were though. Is she sick? "Ara, Naru-chan~," Cecilia shifted uncomfortably. "You're making me ticklish, so I would appreciate it if you would please get out of my shirt." Seeing him shake his head in response, she couldn't help but giggle as she felt his spiky mob of blond hair tickle her neck._

_ Just as she was about to ask him one more time to let go, she heard a light sniff coming from him. Eyes shifting in worry, she turned her neck carefully to see him already asleep with his face buried deep in the crotch of her neck. Small tears forming at the tip of his eyes as his grip around her unconsciously tightened as small whimpers escaped from his lips. _

_ As her lips twitched upward to form a small smile, she lightly kissed his whiskered cheeks. His grip on her relaxing as the whimpers quieted to mere calming breaths as he smiled shyly in his sleep. Her smile deepening to a frown, she gazed around the area and stopped at the crystal clear lake. Her eyes filled with disappointment in the villager's treatment of the boy._

_ Really, how could anyone want to harm much less hate someone as affectionate as little Naru-chan here? Staring at the adorable child in her arm, she smiled brightly as she carefully stared up into the sky. Seeing the sun rising, she simply shrugged her shoulders. She's feeling a bit squealish today, so why not admit to the child's whims and let him sleep._

_ With a smile, she turned slightly and smiled as small roots poked out of the ground around the clearing. Wiggling back and forth before a small pink and white flower bud bloomed from the tip. Pink pollen being slowly released into the air before dispersing; she sighed tiredly in irritation and pouted. _

_ If only father could let me take the child with me to keep. He does the same to whatever catches his favor, so why can't she? Thinking about it for a couple seconds, her pout disappeared and was replaced by a long exaggerated sigh. Oh well, time to rest with my Naru-chan. Giggling lightly, she placed one more peck on the tip of his nose as she rested her cheek in his wild tuft of hair._

_ Then with a bright smile, she fell asleep. After a couple minutes though, Naruto's whimpers returned as a stream of tears ran down his cheeks. His eyes opened to reveal a broken hollow gaze as he clutched desperately towards his Cecilia. Only to stiffen as cracks appeared everywhere around him, shattering the peaceful image in an instant like glass. Naruto standing completely still in the cold darkness as he hugged his knees closer to his chest._

_ Tear streaming down his whiskered cheeks, he couldn't help but feel the remains of her warmth against his skin. "Cecilia-nee…I miss you so much…" Chocked sobs left his lips. "…why? Why did you have to leave me?"_

* * *

_**(Flashback End)**_

* * *

Tears dripping from his eyes, Naruto opened them only to stare at an unfamiliar blue and orange ceiling. Frowning slightly, he shook his head as he sat himself up. Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, he noted that the room he was in was a lot cleaner than his own. There was more furniture too. There were actual books in the bookshelves and a chair for his desk. Posters lined up against the walls about incoming releases of movies and books.

His eyes twitching at the sight of an orange piece with the words Icha-Icha on its cover; he'll simply burn it later. Popping his stiff joints, he looked down to notice that his usual clothing had been changed with a regular pair of blue long sleeved pajama shirt and pants. Eyes now twitching rapidly, he couldn't help but repress the shiver at the thought of someone changing him out of his clothes.

Too many suppressed yet fond memories of when Cecilia used him as her own personal dress up doll. A fond yet sad smile making its way to his lips, he jumped off the bed with his bare feet landing on the soft warm blue carpet below. Looking around one more time, his eyes brightened slightly. Though he wondered where he was, he couldn't help but like the cozy and homey feel that radiated off of the room.

Shaking his head, he walked over to the door in silence. His fingers inches away from the doorknob until it burst open in surprise. A red blur slamming into his chest and into the bed as his face was slapped side to side repeatedly before being shaken unmercifully back and forth. Whoever this red devil was, she knew no mercy because after a couple minutes Naruto laid sprawled wildly on the bed, cheeks smoking with deep red hand shaped imprints. His face slightly pale from his oxygen supply being suddenly cut off at the time.

Eyes spinning in confusion, he finally noticed the added weight on his chest. Sniffling reaching his ears as his vision cleared, a mob of messy red hair being the first thing he sees. Natsumi's face rising from his chest as she glared angrily at him flustered and tears puffy. Staring at her blankly for a couple of seconds, he did what any woken male would do in this situation. Pinching her nose, he let out a loose grinned before she got out of her grip. Her fist slammed painfully into his stomach before removing herself from his being.

Seeing stars for a moment, he wondered if he should start singling Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star before his vision cleared once again. Chuckling lightly, he got back up from his sisters impromptu tackle and noticed to familiar faces by the door. Kushina's worried and grief stricken face being the first he spots before inwardly grimacing.

Not because she was hideous, far from it actually. Despite being her son, he can shamelessly admit that she's one of the most beautiful Kunoichi's in the village. The civilian woman simply standing no chance what's so ever with a few exceptions. And since Natsumi is quickly taking after her with her father's feminine face, she's going to be even prettier than her mother. He just didn't like seeing woman cry…and children…and anyone that he might be close to. Neglectful mother aside, he just wouldn't know what to do…and sometimes it reminds him of that accursed puppy eye trick that all females seem to have embedded in their DNA Strands from the moment of their birth. No straight man could resist that.

On that note, turning to his sister, he gave her a critical calculative gaze that lasted for a couple minutes. Sighing in irritation noticing how Natsumi became flustered and self-conscious at being stared at like that. It was cute of her when she began to play with the tips of her red hair while staying away from his gaze. "I wonder how many piles I'm going to have to bury before they get the lesson." Naruto pondered aloud.

"Piles," She asked tilting her head to the side in confusion. Staring at her blankly for a couple minutes, he sighed when she blushed in embarrassment.

"I'm talking about the boy's that'll follow you around like demented dogs in heat." He explained. His brow twitched in amusement at the look of horror donning the Yondaime's face. "As detached to the family I may be, even I draw the line at watching my sister get stalked by dogs to stupid enough to take no for an answer."

Seeing her about to respond after a couple of perplexed moments, Minato coincidentally butted in the conversation with a slightly demented gleam in his eyes. "Now, now Naruto-kun, there's no need to worry about your sisters love live right now." He chided with a disturbing grin. "Besides any stalkers chasing after my little girl would find themselves in the depths of the ocean tied up in a hundred ton weights surrounded by rabid man eating sea monsters before they could blink." And the fact that the usually calm and reasonable Minato said this in a calm controlled manner with a smile on his face just proved how touched in the head he was. "And the fact that I won't allow her to get a date until she's twenty and the prospective boyfriend defeats me in a one on one fight just for the chance to even hold my princess's hands."

Staring at the man with a raised brow, what little respect he had for the man that had been placed in the negatives had slowly gotten closer to zero. Going over bored is not the point of need but a must in every possible situation. But the fact that the dumb-ass said in right in front of his wife who's hoping to get grand-babies for her to spoil as soon as possible is a suicidal move. It proves that he's even a bigger dumb-ass when he doesn't notice Kushina's hair levitate in the air splitting into nine different tails with a menacing red aura to match.

"Minato-kun, I think we need to have a little talk!" Kushina whispered sweetly.

Not noticing the dark undertone in her voice, Minato foolishly turned around with a confused expression on his face. "Yes Kushi-chan?" Only to pale as a hand tightly wrapped itself around his neck as Kushina dragged him out the door. Shutting it closed as carefully as she can before disappearing into the dark hallway. After a couple of silent minutes, earth shattering screams of mercy rang throughout the house as Kushina's insane Cackling echoed throughout the night…or day? He didn't bother to check yet, but all he knew is that this would be another reminder of him to never piss off a woman. Sending a silent prayer for his brave yet pathetically stupid soul, he grinned sadistically as he continued to whisper thoughts into his mother's ears. The wind carrying his silent murmurs as he cackled along with his mother in the depths of his mind; Minato's screams of terror being music to his ears.

Of course on the outside, his face was as blank as an emotionless boy can create. Turning his attention back Natsumi, he blinked. "So any chance you could tell me what's going on right now?" he asked with a raised brow.

Returning his stare, she glared at him in reply. "Tou-san brought you back home." She said calmly. "But what I want to know is why he had to knock you unconscious to do it!" Her glare intensified, her eyes momentarily flashing crimson.

"If I recall, he didn't **knock** me unconscious!" he muttered under his breath. "I did that completely on my own." His eyes flickering over to the jewel around her neck, his fingers stiffened slightly as he noticed the lack of cool steel lying against his chest. Eyes flickering wildly around the room, he withheld a growl as he found the absence of his pendant unpleasant.

Hearing a jingle, his attention snapped towards a white haired man walking through the door with a frown. Jiraiya dangling a familiar blue pendent around his left hand in caution as he stared at the tensing boy with a calculating gaze. "AH! I remember you!" He gaped angrily. "You're the gaki that interrupted my research a couple days ago!" he exclaimed angrily.

"Then I'll be glad to assist you by dropping you off right at its center as an apology." Naruto snapped angrily. "Maybe I'll give them the tools for permanent spine realignment!?" his eyes flashed dangerously causing the man to blink.

"…Wow, you're a bloodthirsty one aren't you?" he chuckled shrugging off the child's threat. "Would it by any chance have something to do with this trinket I found around you?" He smiled eerily. "Looks like something a girl would have. Does Naru-chan have a lady friend that old Jiraiya doesn't know about?"

Stiffening slightly at the affectionate suffix given to him, he gave the man a blank expression completely devoid of emotion. Keeping his gaze on him for a while, Jiraiya began to grow a little awkward at the boy's eyes. Reminds him too much of Danzo's drones much to his dislike. "Please refrain yourself from calling me that Gama-Sennin. It is unpleasant and Minato would find it troublesome if his top spy were to be sent to the morgue." Yep, the bland enthusiastic undertone in that threat unnerved him greatly alright. "So give me back my pendant or I will have to pleasantly remove the offending appendage from the plane of existence along with its useless pathetic excuse of a host in the next three minutes."

"Ya know that there's no need to be polite if you're just going to keep on threatening me like this." Jiraiya's brow twitched irritably.

"Ah, but I didn't try to make it as clear and blunt as possible. Then the possibility that your peanut sized brain might not comprehend the manner of insults that I'm trying to drive into that dense rotted lecherous excuse you call a skull would be too great a number for you to know." Naruto said calmly with a warm smile. "Assuming that you could count over your three's. Though being the legendary shinobi you were in the past, I'm sure that you can at least count to your two's."

Staring at him blankly for a couple minutes, Jiraiya was dumbfounded at the amount of insults thrown his way with such an innocent face. The fact that they were all devoid of promising undertones scared him a bit because he got the strangest feeling that the gaki meant every single word. Turning to the brats sister, he opened his mouth slightly only to close it. Repeating the process a couple times as he tried to get the words out to help him try and understand what just happened.

Seeing as nothing was going to change anytime soon, Naruto sighed in irritation as he snatched his pendant from the stunned Jiraiya. Placing it back around his neck with a fond smile, he ignored the looks he was getting from both Natsumi and Jiraiya. Hearing footsteps crossing through the hallway outside his door, he turned his attention forward as Minato and Kushina walked back into the room. Minato's ashen white face and dilated pupils showing the extent of the hell his wife gave him.

Noticing the strange looks in the room, he stared blankly at Naruto with a small frown. Turning his attention to the other occupants in the room, he hesitated slightly before seeing his wife's frown deepens. Sighing, he pinched the bridge of his nose in a mixture of exhaustion and frustration.

"Now that were all here, I think there are things that we need to discuss right now." He slowly started. "Things that I probably should have told you two in the beginning,"

"And what would that be?" Naruto asked flatly.

"Wait a minute, weren't we going to talk about Naruto attempting to leave." Natsumi asked stiffly.

"Not right now mutsume, but we will discuss it." Kushina assured her only daughter while sending her son Naruto a silent apology. An apology for what, he didn't know. But frankly he doesn't really care right now.

"You all heard about the Kyuubi's attack fourteen years ago in the academy, right?" Minato asked slowly.

Confusion flickering along her gaze, Natsumi nodded. "The day were the Kyuubi no kitsune attacked the village out of nowhere right?" She asked. "But didn't you kill it?"

Hearing an irritated snort emerge from the back of his mind, he frowned. "Well the fact is that the tale we told the villagers wasn't the complete truth." Minato stated slowly.

Seeing the man hesitate more than a couple times, Naruto can already guess what the man wanted to say but couldn't. Sighing internally, he stood up from the bed startling the others. "If you're going to hesitate then I might as well put it in words so bluntly that even a dead-brained toddler would understand." Naruto said calmly.

"And how exactly would you know then?" Jiraiya asked calmly.

"Know about what?" Natsumi asked irritably. "Exactly what is it that you know that I don't know?" She continued.

"The fact that both of us are the Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune," Naruto said bluntly shocking the others in the room. "Or more accurately you considering that you hold all the chakra and I the soul."

"Naruto, exactly how do you know about that?" Minato demanded, his eyes shaking in shock wondering exactly how long his son had known.

Giving his parents and Godfather a critical gaze, he calmly snapped inside. "Telling a village filled with loose lips instead of your own children is and never will be a good idea Namikaze." Naruto spoke icily. "Especially when you still have that pathetic idea of people in general,"

"Gaki, you really shouldn't be insulting your father like that." Jiraiya grit his teeth angrily. "Here he is trying to explain things to you, but you continue on insulting him. He's your father and the current Hokage of Konohagakure, so show the proper respect."

"Pretty hypocritical coming from you **Sannin**," He retorted. "And in my opinion respect isn't given, its earned. Just because he's my father and the leader of the village doesn't mean I have to respect him."

Eyes twitching in annoyance, he restrained the urge to strangle the brat. It wouldn't do good to kill his student's only son now. "Naruto, Jiraiya. Both of you calm down **now…**" Kushina growled.

Diverting his attention back to his mother, he shook his shoulders in disinterest as he made his way to the door. The calm voice of his father bringing him to a stop before he reached the door; he stopped himself from turning around. "Naruto, I don't know how you came across that information exactly. But we didn't mean to push you aside like this. I know I'm making excuse, but this was the first time the soul and chakra of a bijuu has ever been separated before. The chances of Natsumi accidentally drawing out the Kyuubi's chakra instead of her own being too great a risk to take," Minato explained with a hint of pleading. "The seal I used to seal the Kyuubi didn't work as it was supposed to so the side effects that might have occurred are also something to worry about."

"And how many years did it take for you to be completely sure that the seal was working fine?" he asked flatly.

Hearing him hesitate, Naruto frowned when he heard the number nine. "So it took you nine years to make sure that everything was okay." He told himself. "I understood your reasoning, but what I don't understand is why you didn't act?" Turning around, he glared impassively at the man before him before turning to his mother. "What took both of you so long to finally act when everything was sure to be okay?"

Hearing nothing but silence, he turned away from them ignoring the tears that pricked at his mother's eyes. Just as he was about to walk away, he felt a large hand grip his shoulders almost painfully. Turning around, he was found face to face with the toad Sannin glaring at him angrily. "You're going too far Naruto." He spat out.

Staring at him for couple moments, he shrugged off his hand and took a couple steps back. His attention diverting to his stressed and confused little sister, he frowned. "You are even in a worse position than they are Kyoufu-san. Unlike them, you have no excuses what so ever." Naruto blinked lazily. "Especially considering that you knew of the darkness and the consequences of Minato's actions fourteen years ago." Turning around, he ignored the shocked expression from Jiraiya and the confusion forming within Minato's eyes. "In fact, you are the one person in this room that I would gladly run through with a sword at the moment." And with that he left the room in silence. Leaving a few last parting words in his wake, he disappeared into the corridors. "Every action has consequences…and yours just lost something that they could have gained."

* * *

_**(Thirty minutes later)**_

* * *

"…really," Naruto's eyes twitched irritably. "You people set seals on me to confine me to this particular hallway redirecting me back to this room?" His eyes narrowed at the sheepish looks in the adult's faces…well Minato's. Jiraiya had this smug look on his face while his mother had this somewhat mischievous gleam in her eyes.

Restraining himself from sighing in front of them, he sat back down on his bed in exasperation. Eyeing the black tattoo like markings under his peeking out from under his baggy collar, he turned his attention back to the offending trio. "At least which one of you stripped me down and applied the seals." He asked scratching the back of his head. "I know that I should at least be angry with you three for doing this while I was asleep, but I'm not sure I should be angry about that or at myself for the fact that I didn't locate them on my being when I woke up."

Feeling a gaze piercing the side of his head, he turned to see his sister gaping at him. Standing still for a good couple of moments, he closed her gaping mouth and pinched her cheeks earning a smack upside the head for his troubles. "Ow…" he smiled monotonously.

"Ow…that's what I should be saying." She muttered rubbing her red cheeks. "First you stormed out of the room angry while exclaiming things that would have confused me to no end if Tou-san and Kaa-san had not explained. Now your back as if nothing happened with a bland neutral expression. Whats that about?" she asked with a raised brow. Her arms crossed and her right foot tapping on the ground impatiently.

Staring at the scene with an unnoticeable smirk, Jiraiya couldn't help but chuckle in amusement. "If the situation wasn't so serious at the moment…" he started whispering under his breath. "I could swear that seeing the way the act reminds me of a whipped husband and an impatient wife expecting answers as to why he was so late at night." Giving his sensei a strange look, his eyes narrowed when Jiraiya got a familiar gleam in his eyes. A perverted giggle reaching his sensei's lips steeling the fact along with a notebook magically appearing in his hands.

"Would it help any if I said that they woke me up from a rather nice dream?" Naruto raised a brow questioningly.

"You got that mad all because they woke you up from a dream?" She gaped.

"It was a very nice dream." He pouted making his sister stiffen slightly. For the entire time she tried to get to know him-which would only include the last four years she shamefully added-she had never seen him pout. Or act anything remotely his age come to think of it. Naruto was always acting so serious and mature that she couldn't really tell whether he was truly her age or not.

Shaking her head lightly, she saw the grown-ups confused expressions as well. Though her eyes narrowed as Jiraiya pulled out a notebook for some reason. "And what exactly would this dream be about to get you so worked up?" she asked regaining her bearings…

"Oh, I was climbing into a teenage girl's shirt while at age six while resting my head in the crotch of her neck and wrapping my arms around her waist while going to sleep." …and she lost it. Staring at her brother, she opened her mouth only for no words to close it. No words escaping her lips as she stared at her older twin brother who admitted such a thing with a straight face.

Just as she was about to speak her mind, maniacal laughter filled the room as Jiraiya cackled with glee. "I knew it!" he shouted insanely. "I wasn't able to corrupt you my traitorous apprentice, but I knew that one of your children will fall into the ways of the perv's!" he shouted dancing around the room. His notebook all but forgotten as Kushina stood their dumbfounded at what her son had just said. Minato snapping out of it first only to clap his hands together in a quick prayer, "And I didn't even have to do anything what-so-ever!" he cackled pervertedly.

Turning his eyes towards the cackling Sannin in annoyance, a malicious glint entered his eyes. "But didn't you give me this," Naruto asked innocently drawing everyone's attentions. "…on my third birthday?" He finished, everyone's eyes drawn to a familiar orange book he held in the palm of his hands. The title Icha-Icha in clear view as Naruto's big round eyes stared at everyone else's in confusion. "No-one really paid me any attention when I was younger, so I was only able to read books to relieve me of my boredom. It had funny pictures in it, so I was curious at how it ended." That was when he stopped musing for a second to stare at his birth parents with a confused frightened look in his eyes. "Why was that man taking of the woman's pants?" His innocent-**There's nothing innocent about you gaki**-blue eyes widening.

It was at that point Kushina saw red and Jiraiya saw the light. **"DAMN YOU PATHETIC EXCUSE OF A PERVERT." **Kushina screamed in outrage. A blood red aura bursting from her being as her hair levitated instantly in nine-tail like motions. Menacingly glaring at the paling toad Sannin; he tried but failed to form words when chains sprang from the ground wrapping around him like a full-body cast. Kushina dragged him out of the room as he struggled to free himself from his bindings, whimpers escaping from through the chains. She then slammed the door behind her leaving the room in silence; only for the door to open up once more.

Kushina walking in with a warm smile spread across her lips as she walked over to her son. She then plucked the book out of his hands while ruffling his spiky multi-colored locks. "Don't worry musuko; they were just helping each other get ready for bed. There's no need to look too much into it." Hearing a whimpering sound behind her, he watched as she simply ignored it with a smile. "Adults help each other out of their clothes when they love each other very much, now wait here while I set fire to some old garbage." And with that, she turned around humming cheerfully as she skipped out of the room.

As the door was gently closed behind her; everyone stared at it in complete silence. After a couple seconds passed by, he cracked a smile as a couple of giggles escaped his lips. "Well…that was amusing wouldn't you say." Seeing his son's eyes glint in slight insanity, he couldn't help but shiver. Often recalling seeing the same look in his mother's when she simply got too bored. …But he loves her anyway; crazy or not she's still his irreplaceably beautiful wife.

Sighing, he got up from his seat in reluctance. "I better go make sure Kushi-chan doesn't kill Jiraiya." He muttered under his breath. "You two behave yourselves until we get back." He warned; eyes twitching as his son gave him an all too familiar look of innocence. If it wasn't for the icy look in his eyes; he could have sworn that he'd have forgiven them.

Seeing him walk out of the room to save the irredeemable pervert, she gave her brother a disapproving look. "You know that Kaa-sans probably going to main him right." She stated with a blank expression.

"Yep," He chirped enthusiastically.

"That and the fact that I still **need** him-I don't know, **alive** to be my sensei in the future!" She frowned eyeing him with an unknown glint in her eyes.

"I probably did some good on that one." He chuckled well-naturally. "Kushina would have probably set several restrictions considering that she doesn't want Jiraiya turning you into a female version of him."

"And the book,"

"I really was bored at the time." He shrugged casually. "As Minato has already explained, I wasn't exactly paid much attention to until now. I was curious as to why as to why Kushina seemed to loath the book. So to get her to notice me, I took a copy and read opened it around her presence, hoping that she would notice me in the process…which didn't really work." He muttered under his breath.

"But wouldn't she have gotten angry?" Natsumi asked softly; regret clear in her voice.

"Not really; chances are she'd probably murder Jiraiya thinking that he gave it to me in attempts to **convert** me to his ways." A mirthless chuckle escaped his lips. "But it would have gotten me some attention, whether it is good or bad. Kushina and Minato would still have noticed me if it **had** worked."

Wincing slightly, she knew that the jab was directed at her as well. No one really **noticed **Naruto or cared to in the past. Not Tou-san, not Kaa-san, Ero-sennin, nor Kashi-nii. She doesn't know about Saru-jiji because he really hasn't been enjoying himself as much as the others at her birthdays. They would celebrate and smile at her, but they would always look around as if searching for something. He always leaves with a frown on his face.

"…do you hate us?" She asked; her question barely above a whisper.

Staring at her through a half-lidded gaze, he turned away in silence lying down on his back. Seeing him turn away, her shoulders began to shake slightly at his silent answer. She knew that he deserved to hate them. After all, they had left him alone for so long. She couldn't help but wonder really what it must have been like for him.

To keep on trying to get their parents attention only to fail, to ask him-self what he did wrong, to ask him whether or not they loved him or not. He probably asked himself if he was just a burden to them as well. He had to live in silence for fourteen years always wondering. Always asking the same question, he only got no answers in return.

Sniffing, she shook her head to try and get the tears out of her eyes. But they just would go away. She didn't like it! She knew that Naruto deserved to hate them, but she still didn't like it. Just as she was about to walk towards the door, she felt an arm snake around her waist. Naruto pulled her towards him as he laid her down on his chest. His hand gently combing through her hair as his chest deflated, an irritated sigh escaping from her brothers lips. "I don't really think I can hate those undeserving of it." He whispered softly. "At least I only…dislike you all." Tears dripping from the tips of her eyes, she clutched tightly onto his shirt. "And at best I find myself feeling neutral when thinking about you all."

Eyes widening, she bit her lip tightly drawing blood. Relief flooded her systems as she heard that he didn't hate them. Sure that didn't mean he liked them, but that was only for the time being. There is still a chance for him to come back. Just as she was about to speak, a moan escaped her lips as she felt her brothers fingers trail down her back.

Slapping a hand over her lips, pink flushing her cheeks, she glared at the vulpine grin on her brother's face. Grabbing a nearby pillow, she stood back up and slammed it repeatedly down on his face. "You really are a pervert aren't you!" she exclaimed angrily. Tears long forgotten as she glared feverishly at Naruto's laughter rang throughout the room.

"Hahaha…hahaha...hahaa, but," he coughed lightly as his laughter subsided. A small teasing grin replacing it, he silently stared into a reflection of his cerulean blue eyes. "It got you to stop crying your eyes out didn't it!" he smirked warmly.

Feeling heat rushing to her cheeks, she vehemently shook her head. "Me! Crying?" She mocked. "You must be delusional!"

Chuckling lightly at her childish attitude, he sat himself up as well, lightly pecking her on her button like nose. Her eyes widening in surprise as he ruffled her hair playfully again. She tried to move away half-heartedly, but she only found herself staying put as unfamiliar warmth filled her being. In a way, one of her minor reason's she first decided to try and gets to know her brother was because of how her jackass of a classmate got around his older brother.

Sasuke was always so broody when in the classroom, but when his brother showed up he would be all smiles and what not. He kept on bragging to everyone else about how cool his brother was. It was annoying to say the least, so she wanted to show him up with her own. When she remembered about Naruto at the time, she also recalled that she couldn't recall a single thing about him. This led to that, and in the end it led to her trying to get to finally know him.

Looking up into his eyes, she flushed pink as she realized she was straddling his waist. Her face only a couple inches away from Naruto's as her heartbeat began to quicken. Warmth filling her being as she wondered if this was what it was like to have a brother who she looked up to smile down at her in warmth. Shoulders shaking, she watched as her brother's face came ever so closer to her own. His warm breath sending waves of unknown sensations tingling along her skin, she began to flush. Rising to meet him, she closed her eyes as her heart slammed wildly against her chest. Just as his lips were just seconds away from her own, a loud cough interrupted her train of thought.

Her eyes widening in shock as her brain finally processed her position. Face flaming with embarrassment; she pushed her brother away while scrambling off the bed. Her eyes widening as she saw three pairs of eyes staring into the room at them. Her face brightening to a dark red color similar to her hair as Jiraiya giggled perversely. He would have been writing things down, but he couldn't really use his hands since they had been painfully dislocated. And his legs, his shoulders, wrists, ankles, and just about everything else humanely possible along with several purple and black bruises decorating his skin.

As for Minato and Kushina, they couldn't find anything to say really. They had just come back from torturing Jiraiya when they heard their daughter speaking to Naruto. When she got to the topic about how he got the book; they decided to be as quiet as possible and listen in onto their conversations. Needless to say when they heard their son's answer, they had to stop themselves from barging in there and pull him into the tightest bear hug they could. When they stopped talking, they got worried about what might be happening. When they finally opened it; they did not expect to see their daughter straddling her brother's waist with them just about to lock lips.

All in all, only one person had anything to say in this situation. "Couldn't you have stayed outside the door for what…like two more hours or something?" Naruto pouted childishly. Only Jiraiya's perverted giggling was his response.

* * *

_**Please Review if there are any mistakes. Tell me what you think.**_


	4. Chapter 3

_**I do not own Naruto, but all original characters are mine**_

_**Chapter 3**_

* * *

_ Wincing slightly, dim blue eyes stared down at his injured arm. Several long jagged cuts dragged across his skin. Tears pricking at his eyes, he dabbed the cotton drenched in alcohol against his wounds. Yelping in pain every time, he frowned. Shaking his head, he looked back into the mirror._

_ His eyes dimmed further at the sight of the many bruises on his skin. His right eye bulging shut, as he eyed the many cuts on his cheeks and bony chest. It had only been a couple months since he met Cecilia-nee, and he can happily describe them as the best days in his life._

_ Beatings aside, he was just really happy that someone cared for him. He wasn't so sure whether Otou-san and Okaa-san really saw him, or loved him for that matter. Whenever he tried to get their attention; they would always ignore him in favor of his sister Natsumi._

_ Shaking his head, he filled his thoughts with Cecilia-nee. The tears welling up in his eyes disappearing instantly as he giggled at the time he spent with her. She was always so kind to him. She played with him. She cared for him. She even got angry at him when he got hurt playing. When he said that he was used to getting hurt, she practically exploded in anger at that fact. He idly wondered at the time if she would spew fire like he saw those shinobi do to him on his birthdays._

_ Giggling slightly at the thought, she knew that she was only angry at him because she was worried about him. The only one who worried about him now that he thinks about it? Dozing off into depression for a moment there; he continued to disinfect his wounds. Even though they'll heal by themselves when he goes to sleep; he found out that they'll heal faster if he disinfects them first. Not sure why though._

_ Blinking back tears, he grabbed the roll of bandages on the counter. Unrolling it, he started to wrap it around his injuries. Most of them were centered on his chest and limbs in particular. Instead of being clean wounds; they had decided to use jagged and broken kunai to try and make him scream. Sure it hurt a lot, but he was slowly getting used to the pain of it all._

_ He slightly wondered if that was normal. Did people get used to pain if their hit a lot. Or does it always stay, festering at your wounds like some sort of crawling insect. His wounds don't do that, but his heart always clenches tightly at the thought of his family. Staying completely still for a couple moments; he simply shook away those thoughts in acceptance._

_ He had already long given up on his parents to save him from this hell. Telling them wouldn't do any good, and even if they did notice him they would never believe him. Sighing, he finished dressing his wounds as he did so many times before. Stretching himself momentarily in front of the mirror to make sure there not loose. Taking a couple seconds to check, he nodded._

_ Turning on the sink, he watched at the blood was slowly pulled down the drain by the current. After seeing the blood completely gone, he turned off the sink and jumped off the stool. Setting it back to where he found it, he grabbed a nearby dirty wet shirt of his and wiped off his blood on the floor. Did he forget to mention that the dark red shirt he was using was previously blue?_

_ After seeing the entire bathroom clean of blood, he walked out of the door closing it behind him. Making his way into his room, he dropped the shirt onto a pile in the far corner. The pile was made up of several other shirts that were previously a different color, but were now red because of how me he bled on them._

_ Climbing onto his bed, he winced in pain as he wrapped his blanket around his small form. He was really glad that his wounds heal overnight. He doesn't want to see Cecilia-nee worry over him. He wants to always see a smile on her face. He wants to see her happy. He wants her to be with him, for her to never leave him. He read in stories that boys who want to be with the girls that they like get ma-ma…married…or something along those lines._

_ The boy is called a husband while the girl is called the wife. They always live happily ever after, always together, never leaving each other's sides. He wants his life to be like that. He wants to be Cecilia-nee's husband. He wants Cecilia-nee to be his wife. That way they would be together forever._

_ As tears dripped down his whiskered cheeks; a small smile made its way to his lips. She doesn't need to worry for something like him. He just wants her to be with him forever, to never leave him. To never look at him with the same eyes the villagers look at him with. Contempt…hatred…loathing…he wanted nothing to do with those eyes. _

_ Just the warmth and kindness, that's all he need, he doesn't need anything else. All he wants is for Cecilia-nee to be with him forever and ever. He wants to have their happily ever after together. And for that to happen, he needs for his wounds to heal as fast as possible. His smile quickly dropping into a frown; his cheeks began to pale slightly as he slowly fell asleep. His hair flashing a snow white color before returning to their normal blond spikes, with red tips and black streaks._

* * *

_**(Flashback End)**_

* * *

_"You should really work on keeping your hormones in check fishcake."_ Ashe commented with a raised brow. _"Going after your own twin…a bit high don't ya think?"_ Said brow twitching, Ashe couldn't help but sigh in annoyance at him similarities.

_'You make it sound as if it was a bad thing?'_ Naruto thought in confusion. _'You've been acting a bit funny for a month now Ashe. Is there anything wrong that I should know about?'_

"**My question exactly vixen,"** Kurama added in his thoughts. **"I don't see anything wrong with it. She's female and his age, so shouldn't that be enough?"** His slitted red eyes not even glancing at the woman as he eyed the smoked duck cooking in the fire. Really, if it wasn't enough with the mutated rabbits, the insane bitch had to bring in the ducks.

What kind of idiot gives a thirty story duck titanium skin along with maximum control over lightning? He expects water or wind considering the pathetic fowls practically bath in the stuff. He'd use it to cook them. What the hell was she thinking giving the damn bird laser eyes as well? The only upside to the fight was that he kept on using the vixen as a shield while he Bijuudama'd the birds feathered ass all the way to hell and back. Just as he was about to continue his inner rant; he yelped slightly in shock.

Turing to his backside, his jaw dropped as he stared at his nine glorious tails…shining a steaming bright red as wisps of steam ascended into the air. **"What the hell was that for you insane vixen?"** Kurama growled; his thoughts bordering on why the skinny flesh bag continued to dodge his attempts to flatten her with the seething hot tails that she flambéed with her annoying light.

_"If that was enough then everyone would be okay, but it's not." _Ashe huffed. _"She is his sister for god's sake and it's basically incest…no, it's basically twincest in this situation." _She snapped irritably. _"You planning on seducing your twin, who you hardly even know much about, might I add?"_

_ 'If it's about not knowing anything about her…then you're sorely wrong my dear.'_ Naruto commented casually making her blink. _'As a child, when I still attempted to garner my…parents attention, I thought that I had to observe my sister for a while and compare what she's doing right to what I'm doing wrong.'_

Thinking back on what he said, she supposed that was true. He did watch his sister for a while, but she thought it was a phase of curiosity because of how fast it ended. _'Well…I suppose that's true in a sense, but tell me."_ Eyeing him from her place in the mindscape, she frowned. _"How well did that work out for you?"_ Feeling him wince, she nodded. _"That's right, it didn't work. From what I can guess, those two seemed to be the type of people who'd rather take the easy way out. I've seen plenty of them back in the years. It all starts off as thinking that what you're doing is right, and that it's the best option to protect them, but in the end the one hurting them the most is the one trying to protect them."_ She whispered bitterly. Hearing nothing but silence, she turned to see the odd looks sent her way by the two…well Naruto actually. The fox simply had his eyes closed. _"What?"_

_'…No, it's just we'd ever thought it'd be possible for you to actually explain something like a sensible person.' _Naruto deadpanned.

** "The kits right," **Kurama muttered opening his eyes, slightly shocked himself. **"Who would have thought that a crazy vixen like yourself can think of anything besides eating, sleeping, commenting, and chasing after your own tails?"**

_"Cruel…now that's just cruel you guys." _She pouted in mock hurt. _"I can be sensible at times, and who do you take me for, my brother?"_

**"You dropped a thirty ton water fowl right on my head that shoots lasers from its eyes, mastery over lightning, and titanium-fucking-skin for shinigami's sake." **The fox deadpanned.

_"…your point being?"_ Ashe raised a delicate brow in challenge.

Blinking, he simply turned his head away from the clearly unstable vixen. Grinning, Ashe took that as her win and turned away as well. _"My point being Naruto is that unless you want your children to gain deformities due to the closely related genes between you and your sister Natsumi; you should not attempt to pursue a relationship with her."_ She said casually pointing out the flaws of his plan. _"Besides, relationships between siblings are pretty much seen in an unfavorable light by the general public."_

Hand's stopping; he just looked and stared with a deadpanned expression. _'The general public being the same people who view me as Kurama in human form and hold no insecurities about torturing a child for something he didn't even do.'_ Yeah, that was sarcasm in his voice.

Blinking lazily, said demon trailed his blistering tails into the cool water below with a content growl. **"You know, the kit has a point there."** He commented with a smug grin. **"If that's what the public considers morally right, then I'm curious to know what they think is wrong. Maybe feeding some baby orphan bunnies is worth for an execution in their blind pathetic shit they call eyes?"** The thought was both interesting and a bit sickening.

Huffing at their point, she pouted. _"Okay, I get your point."_ Ignoring their smug expressions of victory, she shrugged. _"But I still don't approve!"_ She exclaimed remaining adamant.

_'But don't the clans of Konohagakure…and other villages for that matter do the same thing?'_ He pointed out curiously.

_"The Konohagakure part is out because as you said…if these guys have the sense to torture and kill a child while trying to justify their actions then you're better off not following their example."_ Scoffing, she grinned at the look of reluctant admittance in their faces but decide d to add in another point. _"Besides, if the other villages told you to jump off a cliff down into a lake filled with poison infested hundred story sea-serpents because everyone else was doing it, would you follow?"_ Hearing nothing but silence, her grin turned smug. _"My point exactly,"_

**"…you seem to be against the twin thing more than the fact that they are actual siblings." **Kurama pointed out with bored eyes, his tails flickering back and forth in content. **"Is there a story there?"**

_"If you had an over-affectionate twin who slept in the same bed as you up through puberty while threatening and batting away potential relationship prospects, you'd understand." _Thinking on her words, she huffed. _"No offence Naruto."_

_'None taken,'_ He replied with a chuckle. _"But just so you know, if that had happened to me then I still would have jumped her, sister or not. I view things on how they look while ignoring the minor details.'_

_"You call being your twin a minor detail?"_ She asked in incredulity exasperation…before sighing in reluctant expectancy. _"Oh forget it, I know you enough to know that you wouldn't care as long she's female, she's pretty, you like her personality, and boom you try and date said female. In your eyes, being related by blood wouldn't matter as long as the age gap isn't too wide." _Closing her eyes, she took of the make shift thin wire glasses she retrieved from who knows where and put them away. _"I'm still against it though."_ She added as an afterthought.

"**Don't forget the fact that they have to produce strong heirs as well."** Kurama added lazily. **"I'll not approve of any females that are too weak to protect their own kits from their and your enemies. The chibi-red headed sister of yours being descended from the Uzumaki clan ensures strong children along with the fact that she has my chakra sealed up in her gut." **Blinking slightly as if recalling a distant memory, he chuckled. **"Come to think of it, the Uzumaki's were the only clan of people that I respected. Always fighting to the end to protect their families no matter the cause, politics is damned in their minds." **There's also the fact they their related to the old man, be he ain't telling them that.

"…_Wow…just…wow!"_ Ashe blinked. _"You really respect them don't you?"_

**"Much more than the other flesh bags at least,"** He frowned. **"They were stubborn flesh bags I can tell you that much."**

Overhearing their words, Naruto couldn't help but frown at their words. Well he can admit to Ashe that she's right about his preferences a least. Sighing, he shook his head before cutting off the link. But not before hearing Kurama's last sentence…

** "Besides canine…" **The fox added lazily. **"…you should know that your presence here in the seal changed along more things than you think it did." **

And with that the link was completely cut off. Kurama's last word echoed in his thoughts. What kind of changes did the fox mean exactly? Did it have something to do with the changes in his hair? Twirling a finger around one of his spiky bangs, he eyed the white streak in his hair and the blood red tips. He recalled there being a black streak there a while back, but maybe it was just his imagination.

Humming in thought, he shrugged and returned back to the book in his hand. It was a thick, dusty brown tome that looked millennium's old, but the pages still looked as if they were in mint condition. It had suddenly appeared on his tenth birthday while he was visiting Cecilia's grave. Ashe looked a bit shocked about it, but she didn't comment on the book. And eerily enough, Kurama was silent for once.

Tracing its bindings with his fingertips, he opened the book and flipped to the last page he left on. The main character was someone called Solomon Forzition. Ironically enough, he wasn't human, but a being called a Fragment.

From what he's read so far, a Fragment is basically the next generation of Demons. Since Demons were borne from the dominating's species fear and negative aspects, when humanity started fearing each other instead of the beasts in the wild, Demon's went through something called The Shift. They had lost plenty of their previous abilities due to this, but gained others as their visage changed to look that of humanity.

Not only that, but this Solomon was not an ordinary Fragment. He was the heir to the Third Fragment kingdom making him an important individual. In a way, Naruto admired the man, but because he was practically royalty. He admired the man because of how he is.

He is strong. He is intelligent. He doesn't care whether or not people thinks' of him as a monster. He views the world not as black and white, but an ever-shifting grey. He doesn't show regret. He keeps moving on. He cares for his people. He doesn't hide away in safety, but prefers to fight in the front-lines. He destroys anyone and anything that goes against his morals. He doesn't care what station they are at, whether they were another king, or a god. He sends them to the base of oblivion without a care if it means keeping those he loves safe from harm.

He has his faults, but nobody is perfect. The man just did what he thought was right and stuck to it. Solomon was a **King.** Looking throughout the pages, he smiled. This book tells him about Solomon's adventures from the very beginning. Sad enough, there seemed to be more copies, and he only has the first. He's already read the book more than a dozen times.

Finger's twitching, he gently closed the book. "You mind coming out now." He called out. "I don't really like being spied on…unless you're into that sort of thing." He grinned mischievously as a small eep sounded behind a nearby tree.

He was currently within the edge of his usual forest. Why not in the forest itself…well, the Namikaze somehow put up seals around it restricting anyone from entering without his permission. If anyone tried, they would simply end up back at where they entered. Scowling, Naruto frowned in distaste.

'_Quite petty of you Namikaze,'_ He was going to rant more, but the soft rustling of grass caught his attention. Smiling, he turned around and watched as a girl around his age walked out from behind the tree.

She seemed to be a shy brunet with messy shoulder length hair. Her bangs hiding the majority of her eyes only enough for him the catch a glimpse of her honey brown eyes. She had a round face with fair skin and wearing a slightly baggy brown shirt, a black steel mesh shirt underneath as well as dark green cargo pants and blue shinobi sandals. She stood at a height of '5'01'' which would be considerably shorter than him and Natsumi. In essence, with that perpetual blush on her cheeks, she resembled a small cuddable rabbit with how she stared with her large brown eyes.

Too bad he was a fox that just found his meal. Hearing a bark of approval in his head, he chuckled good-naturally unknowingly calming the bunny down. "So tell me, I haven't seen you around the village Usagi-chan," Chuckling as she flushed at his nickname for her, he hummed. "If you have any business with me, please tell me." Giving her his best dazzling smile, he chuckled inwardly as her flush increased by drastic proportions. Setting the book down next to him, he stood up and walked over to her. His hands cupping both sides of her cheeks as he worriedly pressed his forehead against hers in concern. "Is there anything wrong Usagi-chan, you're looking a little red there. Do you have a fever?" Concern entering his eyes, he gazed into her own honey browns with kindness and warmth filled compassion.

Inside his mind, Ashe was staring at the scene with a blank expression. _"I blame you fur ball!"_ She eyed the fox with a deadpanned expression. _"You turned my lovable protégée into a playboy."_

Staring at vixen in amusement, he let out a deep throaty chuckle. **"It's not my fault your reading addiction passed onto him."** The fox laughed. **"Besides, all I did was taught him how to work the old kitsune charm. It's not my f…actually, yes it is. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't."** He corrected himself at the last moment. Ignoring the glare sent to him, he let out a large vulpine grin.

Gazing deep into her eyes, he removed his left hand from her cheek and cupped her chin instead. Slightly closing his eyes, his lips were but a hair's breadth away. Licking his lips, he was about to completely close the distance when he felt her shake under his fingers. Her eyes shut tightly as tear's hanged from the tip of her eyes. Smiling softly, he pulled back and ruffled her hair playfully. He knows when to have fun, and he knows when to stop. When a girl starts crying, that is when he knows he's edging towards the line.

Seeing the look of confusion in her eyes when she patted down her hair, he grinned. "Sorry if I scared you," Taking a couple steps away, he dropped to the ground and picked up his book. "Now please tell me Usagi-chan, do you need anything from me?" After a couple minutes, silence was the only thing that was prominent in the clearing.

Eyeing her for a couple moments, he began to silently hum a calming tune. With his back against the tree, he looked up towards the sky staring at the clouds above. The sky was so bright, so blindingly bright…he didn't like it. Stopping for a moment, he closed his eyes as a shy whisper entered his ears.

"A…ano…my name is Tetsu…mi Kokoro." She mumbled finding an odd interest in her feet.

Giving her a soft smile, he nodded as she began to calm down. "Nice to meet you Tetsumi-chan, my name is…" Trailing off for a moment, he frowned for a split second. "My name is Naruto. Now what would a Kunoichi like you be doing with a civilian like me?" He pondered before gasping. "You're not planning on having your way with me using you ninja powers are you?" He whispered dramatically while inwardly enjoying her face flushing a dangerous crimson while denying everything the best she can.

Breaking out in a burst of laughter, he smiled. "Sorry, sorry; it's just that you're so cute when you're blushing it's impossible for me to not tease you." A sly glint entering his eyes, he grinned eerily. "…I wouldn't really protest much if a cute bunny like you were to do it though!" Before she could babble anymore, he broke out in another fit of laughter that both confused the girl and angered her. But when she tried to scowl, Naruto simply laughed louder as it came out as an adorable pout instead.

After a couple seconds, his laughter broke down into a small mix of chuckles and giggles. "Sorry, again, but I'm really serious here. Aren't you supposed to be at the Academy receiving your teams right now?" She hesitated for a moment, but shook her head in response. Raising a small brow in confusion, he frowned. The teams were supposed to be given out today.

Staring at him for a moment, she shook her head again. "I…failed the exam. So...I'm not a Kunoichi." Thinking on it for a moment, she frowned before shaking her head. "From what I heard…the team setting has been postponed till next week."

Ah…strange. Eye's narrowing in thought, his fingers twitched. "Well, I'm sorry if I brought up some unpleasant memories." He smiled apologetically. Noting something, his grin softened a he waved her over. "C'mere, I noticed that you have been staring at my book for a while now. Do you like reading?" Gaining a hesitant nod, he smiled. "Well, so do I…but the problem is that I'm a very cautious person, so I can't just lend it to just anyone." Seeing the slight depressed look in her eyes, he hummed in amusement. "You're interested in the book, right?"

Staring at it for a couple moments, she nodded with more certainty than before. The book looked completely different from those in the Konoha Public Library. It looked so old and ordinary…yet at the same time felt as if it had a mystical quality. Seeing the boy…Naruto**-she wondered why he doesn't have a last name-**wave her over, she did just that, albeit with some hesitation. But when she came just within arms-reach, Naruto pulled her down making her eep. Her form landing softly on the grass right next to him with her head in the crutch between his shoulders, she blushes an inferno…only to realize that she was completely calm. Unlike before, for some reason his touch didn't feel…dangerous to her. It felt calm and soothing.

Nodding, he grinned. "Well, as I said before, I can't really lend out the book to just anyone…but," He said after a moment of silence. "…I can read it to a friend if she likes me to." The unasked question had her stop and think for a moment. Furrowing her brows, she weighed the chances of having a book red to her by a mysterious boy she just met, or not read the book that's been on her mind for a good while at all. After a couple seconds, she nodded…but, at the last moment, she noticed that he had called her a friend.

Opening the book once again, he grinned as she didn't deny his invitation either. With her leaning closer to the book, he chuckled and started. _**"Prologue: The Beginning to the End…"**_

* * *

_**(With Ashe)**_

* * *

Smiling warmly at the scene, she giggled. "Ah…how cute~!" She squealed. "If only I could get out of this accursed seal, then I would be able to cuddle them all I want for their cuteness." Eyeing the scene with interest, she stared at the book they were reading for a moment…and frowned. Flicking her fingers against the panel of light in front of her, the scene disappeared from the area.

"**You know he's going to make the connection vixen."** Kurama muttered crimson eyes flashing. **"It'll only be a matter of time."**

Ignoring the fox, her frown deepened. Ear's twitching, she looked out into the darkness of the stone passage and frowned. The mindscape has changed a bit ever since they made contact with the boy. While his personality took a huge turn around, it was probably better than what he could have been.

They were once in an underground sewer with hundreds of stone passages that lead to who knows where and who knows how gruesome. When she had woken up, she had been both appalled and frightened at the state of Naruto's mindscape as a child. Cracked stone walls of a dungeon like sewer, murky black water that seemed to leak nothing but negative emotion and a roof buried in a seemingly endless darkness.

That was the state before, and while it changed greatly from what it looked back then, it was still the underground sewer like before. The endless darkness above them was still there, but the walls were no longer cracked and the water was no longer a murky black. That was good…but at the same time bad.

Eye's flashing a deep royal blue; she turned her attention towards the deep darkness at the end of the passageway. The water around there being an endless black shade with the door chained together by multiple locks and seals. Not that they actually worked though. Seeing it open slightly, she grinned at the black sclera crimson red iris that peeked through and sighed when the door shut tight right afterwards.

Sighing, she turned to meet the fox in the eye. "Let's just worry about the here and the now and tomorrow when it comes." Smiling softly, she hummed in comfort. "Besides, by then, Naruto should have plenty of friends by his side. Thinking on that for a moment, she huffed. "And a girlfriend if he keeps on doing the things he doing," She commented glaring at the bored fox who was starring off into space.

"**Probably more than one with the stamina he has." **The fox mumbled tiredly.

Snapping her head towards the fox, she scowled. "Oh no, Fishcake is not going into polygamy. The twincest thing was pushing it, but that is just shattering it into dust!" Eye's flashing blue, she sent a bolt of light right at the fox only for it to shatter it with a flick of its tails.

Grumbling under his breath, the fox took the attack in stride. **"What is your problem vixen?"** Kurama asked in irritation. **"First you're going off with the blood relation crap and now it's the polygamy! Must you try and ruin my fun at corrupting the boy?"**

Sending another bolt at the cage, she huffed angrily as he destroyed it with a flick of his claws. "You're fun is demeaning to woman everywhere, and if I recall, I'm one to." She was about to charge up another bolt when the look in Kurama's eye's changed.

"**Ashe,"** Kurama said calmly calling her out by name. **"Are you angry at that in itself…or at the fact that these are things that Solomon did…well except for the incestuous part." **_**'Maybe, you could never tell with that guy.'**_ Her silence was answer enough for him. Letting out a low growl, the great fox shifted his position for a more comfortable one. **"Ashe…stops worrying and just listen and see. As you say, worry about the here and now and worry about tomorrow when the time comes. If you don't, you may just miss something that can never be changed before it is too late."**

Shuffling her feet nervously, she frowned. "I'm just worried okay." She watched over the boy for almost his entire life, how she couldn't not want him to be safe.

Smiling in understanding, Kurama's tails simply shifted before poking at the water near Ashe. The ripples shifting as it showed the forms of Naruto reading to Kokoro in absolute calmness. **"Just watch and see…"**

* * *

_**(With Naruto)**_

* * *

Blinking, Naruto looked down to see something pressing against his shoulders. A soft smile playing at his lips, he looked up to see the sun dropping in the horizon. "Wake up Tetsumi-chan, I think it's time for you to go." He whispered shifting her shoulders for a bit.

Yawning cutely, she responded by blinking a couple times as she removed herself from Naruto's shoulders. Nodding off slightly, she jolted up with a startle when Naruto lightly flicked her nose. "Ow," She mumbled drowsily rubbing her forehead. "That hurt."

Chuckling softly, he closed the book and helped her up. She stumbled a bit for a moment due to sitting so long, but he helped her keep her from falling. "Be careful Tetsumi-chan!" Straightening her a bit, he hummed in amusement as she pouted. When she regained strength in her legs, she nodded.

"I'm sorry…for taking…your time Naruto-san." She whispered with a bow.

Frowning at that, he huffed. "Now, now, there's no need for formalities. And you didn't take up my time," Shaking his head, he ruffled her hair making her flush. "If fact, you just made my day." And she really did. She was the first person in the village who didn't speak to him with hate or disgust. The Namikaze's didn't really count due to the fact that they're only being nice because of regret. And he doesn't like being pitied.

Hearing footsteps, he broke out of his internal rant to see Usagi-chan staring at him in confused curiosity. Raising a small brow at that, he chuckled when she flushed and muttered out a bye. Waving at her, he nodded. Just as he was about to turn around though, he stopped. It was getting rather dark, and he already knows that this village is filled with the vilest filth known in non-existence…

Yeah…no; she's his bunny now and anyone who dare's lay's a hand on her will lose the offending appendage...along with their miserable lives. Jogging up to her, he placed his hand on her shoulder and frowned.

"Hai…Naruto-san?" She asked nervously.

Shaking his head, he looked up towards the sky and scowled. "Do you mind if I walked you home?" He asked.

"…Eh," She said confused making him blink.

"What I mean is that it's not safe for a young girl like you to walk around in the village at night." He explained slowly. "I know Konohagakure may be the most peaceful of villages," Yeah fucking right. "But right now, that doesn't stop some low-life drunk from walking around. As a man as well as your friend, I wouldn't be very comfortable if you managed…" Swallowing the bile in his throat at the thought of them, he growled inwardly. "To meet one of them or them you…yeah, in fact, I'm not letting you go out alone in the middle of the night period." He promised noting the paling look on her face. She got his unsaid message after all huh, smart girl

"H-H-Hai…" She stuttered with a fearful look in her eyes.

…okay, now he just feels like an ass. "Don't worry!" He smiled reassuringly. "I may not look it, but I can pack a good punch when the going gets tough! So just stick with me and you'll be safe, I promise-ttebayo!" Freezing, he a brief flush entered his cheeks when she abruptly giggled. _'Damn, I thought I grew out of that!'_

With the flush on his cheeks dying down, he sighed in resignation. "What…was that?" She asked with a giggled. "…ttebayo." Then she burst in a fit of giggles while Naruto seemed to glow in embarrassment.

"Just a verbal tick of mine," He laughed nervously. "Always pops up when I get a bit too excited about something." Motioning her towards the streets, he pouted when she continued to giggle. Well, at least she wasn't all that nervous around him anymore.

Wait…does that mean he'll have a harder time making her blush? Eye's glinting at the thought of a challenge, he cackled manically inwardly at the thought. He ignored the feeling of exasperation and proudness he felt from within, but he can guess which came from whom though.

As the sun had dropped behind the Hokage Monument, night had come as they continued to walk around through the streets of Konoha. To Kokoro, even though it was dark out, she didn't feel any unease. Even with Naruto-san's warning's, she didn't really feel scared. She doesn't know why, but she felt completely safe around him.

Thinking on it for a moment, she smiled inwardly. Maybe it was the presence Naruto-san exuded? To her, it felt like a warm blanket that protected you from the cold. It was a strange feeling for her. She was usually so shy in class, and she never really talked to that many boys with how plain she looked. So deep in her thoughts, she barely noticed that she was slowly falling behind. But before she could catch up, she noticed something.

Naruto-san's back…why, even though it looks so big…does it look so fragile. From what she can remember, her Tou-san's back had been looked so big and firm. But Naruto-san's, while similar, looked insecure instead. Her eyes flashing a golden color, she wondered why, if she put even the slightest pressure at a certain part, that she was sure he would shatter.

Shaking her head, she caught up with Naruto-san and walked right by his side while leading the way. After a couple more minutes, her home came into sight and she let out a small smile. Turning around, she bowed. "Thank you Naruto-san…for walking me…home," she feet his hand ruffle her hair again, she eeped making him back away softly laughed as she fixed her hair…again. Mou~, why must Naruto-san tease her like this?

"It's because I find you so irresistibly delectable my dear Usagi-chan!" He cackled making her look up to him in shock. Can he read minds!? "Of course not my dear Usagi-chan, it's just that you're expressions are so painfully obvious and cute that it would be a crime for me not to answer in kind!" He gasped dramatically clutching his heart. "Why, I even felt faint for a moment their when witnessing your cuteness!"

Staring at him blankly, she couldn't help but giggle. Now she knows why she feels so safe around Naruto-san. "You'd…make a much…better Shinobi than…me Naruto-san." She complimented without any bitterness in her tone.

Brows rising in response, he scoffed at the absurdity of such a thing. "And hide these babies," He exclaimed flexing his biceps…or lack of. "These babies aren't meant to be hidden Usagi-chan, their supposed to be seen along with my devilishly handsome self!" Wiggling his eyebrows as if attempting to prove a point, she laughed.

Chuckling, he ruffled her hair and smiled. "Go on in, I'll keep look out until you're in your home." Good idea so because once she's in there, she wouldn't be able to see him snap any pathetic insects necks for even thinking of going near what he claim as his. Seeing her nod, he waited and frowned when she started to shuffle nervously while staring at him expectantly. As if she was waiting for…"You know, despite doing nothing but reading, I had some fun today." He admitted crossing his arms behind his head. "Would you like to meet up tomorrow to listen to the rest of the story…and maybe hang out a bit after wards?" He asked a bit hesitantly at the end.

Seeing her nod almost immediately, he snorted. "Well someone's eager, are you sure you're not planning on seducing the beautifully sexy Adonis that is Naruto?" He asked flexing his, again, lack thereof muscles making her giggle instead of blushing. Pouting at that, he huffed. "Well…anyway, see you tomorrow Usagi-chan!" Watching as she nodded once again in thanks, he eyed her form as she up the stair's into her home.

When she disappeared into the doorway, his smile dropped to a blank frown as the door clicked shut. _'Ah…Ashe, do you have any idea what's going on?'_

Feeling a wave of confusion wash over him, Ashe responded. _"What do you mean?"_ From what she saw, nothing seemed particularly strange…_"Are you talking about the team assignment being postponed?"_

Nodding, his frown deepened into a small scowl. _'While I may be paranoid, I know that Namikaze isn't the type to postpone anything without a good reason. He arrives on time exactly when coming home for dinner, even with his duties as Hokage, so that goes to show how seriously he takes his job.'_ Except for him, _'So I'm just wondering as the reason why? Postponing his daughters team assignment is another thing he wouldn't have liked, so why?'_

"_You may be on to something about that, but it's not like there's anything you could do about it at the moment."_ She commented reluctantly. _"You don't exactly have good if any relations with your…family after all." _She pointed out hesitating when saying family.

'_I prefer to address them as really, really distant relatives…four times removed.'_ He retorted blankly. _'Blood we may share, but calling us family is just walking into the fox's lair.'_

_ "…oh great, they returned."_ She mumbled under her breath in annoyance. _"Oh well, the placements don't really have anything to do with you anyway. Now onto more important stuff," _She stated seriously shocking the other two.

_"…My little fishcake is going out on his first date!"_ She squealed happily making him stumble forward from the pitch and shock.

Flushing at her point, he growled. _'Can we not talk about this now!?'_ He hissed in embarrassment. The woman in response was giggle eerily before she cut off the connection. Grumbling about nosy spirits, he huffed and began to walk…where exactly?

He hasn't exactly been using the room back at the Namikaze's for a good couple years, and he mainly spent his time in the woods near Cecilia's grave. But with Minato blocking the forest off with his seals, he can't really go there for the time being. Scowling at the thought, he turned away from the street and walked away with a frown on his face.

* * *

_**(Namikaze's Home)**_

* * *

"…he's not coming, is he?" Natsumi asked looking up towards her mother. Seeing nothing but regret and sadness in her eyes, Natsumi turned away and faced the door leading into their home.

She's been waiting for Naruto to walk through the door. She was waiting for him to come and at least attempt to accept their wanting to be an actual family. After all, he didn't hate them right…right? He said so himself, so he doesn't. But if that's the case, how come Naruto won't come home? Was the warmth he showed her a couple days ago a facade? Was it a lie?

Shaking her head, she wondered why was it that she felt as if her heart was twisting. She hardly gave her brother any attention, so why now? Why does she care if he doesn't see them as family? Why does she care if he hates them? Why…why is it that she's crying if she doesn't really care at all? "Okaa-san…" She whispered bitterly. "Why does it hurt so much?" She asked staring at the door blankly.

Stopping for a moment, she set the dirty dish down. "That's what we call guilt sweetie." She answered barely above a whisper herself. "It hurts so much because we did something wrong…" Drying her eyes, she took a shuddering breath. "Mito-obaa-san had a saying she always used to tell me."

Shaking her head, Natsumi looked up to her mother curiously and sniffed. "What was it?"

"That you never know what you have…until it's gone." Kushina whispered. "…I wish I had listened to her, and I hope that it's just not too late." Closing her eyes, she felt small frail arms wrap around her waist, Natsumi burying her face into her chest as she shook. Bending down slightly, she rubbed her daughter's back in comfort as she continued to silently cry in her chest.

Eye's watering herself, she couldn't help but think back on what she'd done…on what she didn't do as a mother. **"Every action has consequences…and yours just lost something that they could have gained."** As Naruto's words came up to surface, she herself began to shake. Tear's slowly streaming down her eyes as she pulled in her daughter in a tight hug.

Near the door's entrance, Minato couldn't help but stare in silence at the scene in front of him. His beautiful wife, so prideful, so strong and his daughter were crying their eyes out…and he knew that there was nothing he could do to help. Everything happened because of him. His family was breaking apart…and it was nobodies by his fault alone. But even so, walking into the kitchen, he pulled his wife and daughter into a hug and frowned. This is the least he could do…but the best. The best is that he fixes his mistakes and brings back their son. 

* * *

_**...Ah, so in a sense, you can describe Naruto as a more mischievous and playful version of Jiraiya...hardly thinking perverted thoughts and more interested in reactions in a sense. Still respects woman far more the self-proclaimed and earned Super Pervert, but just as shameless if not more.**_

_**...and on the side note for the pairing's...I'm still working on that, still confused on whether it'll be a Harem or not due to how playful and affectionate I made the boy.**_


	5. Chapter 4

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto but all original characters are mine**_

_**Chapter 4**_

* * *

Raising his brow in concentration, he kept his hand steady as sweat dripped down his chin. After a couple seconds, nothing happened. Furrowing his brows, the wind around him began to steadily slow down as the seconds passed. Nodding inwardly, he opened his eyes slightly and stared at the pebbles in the palm of his hand.

After a couple more seconds, they slowly started to shift and move. Small strings of wind twirling around them in small masses, he watched as the pebbles slowly began to rise in the air. Steadily, one by one, the pebbles began to hover in the air as the strings slowly began to dissipate. Eye's twitching; he silently hummed to himself as the pebbles slowly began to rise higher and higher into the air.

When they were about several inches above his palm, he gave off a small grin before a cracking twig broke his concentration and the pebbles fell to the soft ground below. Sighing in resignation, he turned around to see a familiar face walk into the clearing and grinned. "Oji-san, what are you doing here?" He asked a bit tiredly.

Looking around the tree's, and old man chuckled as he walked in the clearing. His name is Hiruzen Sarutobi. His weary brown eyes spotted the litter of pebbles that surrounded his surrogate grandson in the ground. He wore a white haori along with a red full length kimono that is tied using a white sash. He has a small brown smoking pipe in between his fingers as he stared at the sweating boy in curiosity. "Naruto, how have you been?" The old man asked with a smile. "I'm sorry that I haven't been to see you in a while. Even retired, I still have duties to the village."

Stopping, Naruto just frowned in response. "Hai, hai Oji~-san; you must have been **really** busy performing your duties." He replied skeptically staring pointingly at the small orange book peeking out of his robes. "Yep, busy indeed."

Chuckling nervously, he coughed before regaining himself. "There's no need for formalities Naruto." He sighed making the boy grin. Really, how many times has he told the boy? "I'm not really the Sandaime anymore, so just call me as you would naturally."

Sliding himself around to face the old man, Naruto blinked. "Ah, but isn't it proper to respect the elderly…and the senile." He commented whispering that last bit.

Giving the boy a glare at that last comment, he simply chuckled stoking his goatee. "Yes, I suppose that's true, but you can let up a bit on that."

"Hai Ero-jiji!"

Stumbling forward at the nickname, his eyes twitched in slight irritation a Naruto grinned. Chuckling, he decided to let it go…this time. "So Naruto-kun, how has your day's been since my last visit?" Hiruzen asked.

Tilting his head to the side in thought, he grinned. "Ero-jiji, guess what?"

"What?" He asked amused by the boy's enthusiasm.

"A couple days ago, I think I finally made a friend my age." He said smiling brightly. "She's really shy and all that, but she's fun to play with to!"

Raising a brow, he grinned. "Oh~ it's a she is it?" Hiruzen chuckled with a teasing glint in his eyes. "You haven't been up to any…mischief, have you?"

"Of course not Ero-jiji," He exclaimed with a small flush. "We're friends you senile pervert. Besides, I'm too young to be thinking of that stuff."

**"Pfft, young, in your dreams brat,"** Kurama barked out a laugh. **"In this world, there's no such thing as too young!" **Take a look at that Uchiha brat and Hatake.

_"Unfortunately, my pelt is right,"_ Ashe reluctantly agreed earning a growl from said 'pelt'._ "But that doesn't mean I'll allow you to get any idea's brat!"_ She was still in here, and she **did not** want to see a teen getting it on thank you very much! Not that she'd allow it anyway. They'd have to be proven worthy before even thinking about even speaking to her little fishcake.

"Hai, hai; so tell me about this friend of yours," He asked curiously. "She must be a really level headed person to deal with your antics." Seeing Naruto pout indignantly, he chuckled good-naturally.

Muttering about senile's and retirement homes, Naruto shook his head in bemusement. "Not really Ero-jiji, she's shy and tends to stop between every couple words. From the amount of time we spent together, she's seems to really like reading and inventing things." Inventing was an understatement though. Just yesterday she showed him a funny looking black box with circuit like brown lines on it. It was around the size of his head, but other than that it looked pretty cool.

When she was talking about it, she seemed really animated about it when explaining its functions. It was interesting and fun to listen to her talk, but that all ended when she activated it. Brow's furrowing in slight distaste, he frowned. He did not like being chased around by a large electrical black bird that spews lightning beams.

Smiling softly, Hiruzen chuckled inwardly as he watched Naruto go through a variety of expressions. _'Most likely from thinking about this friend of his,'_ He thought warmly. It was good that the boy made a friend. With how he was five years ago…shivering at the thought, he shook his head. He's seen many things in his life, but one of the worst things he's hope to have never seen was the look of despair and emptiness within a child's eyes.

When the child appeared on his footsteps, Naruto had taken it a step beyond. There was no despair. There was no emptiness. There was just…emptiness. It was like he was staring at a hollow void that wanted to suck in everything all around it. When he had noted that the boy was drenched in blood, he was outright horrified and wanted to march down towards the Namikaze estate and demand an explanation. Successor or not, they ended the Shinobi World Wars so they didn't have to see things like this anymore!

Shaking those thoughts from his mind, he sighed wearily. He was just happy that Naruto looked nothing like the boy he was all those years ago. "Naruto…exactly what are you doing with all of these pebbles?" He asked hoping to distract himself.

Stopping his momentary rant, Naruto looked around and spotted the hundreds of small pebbles that littered the grass. _'Do you think I should tell him Ashe?'_

Raising a small brow, Ashe giggled. _"Do what you think is best fishcake!"_ She replied softly. _"I'm a guide, not your problem solver…besides; you can't very well fulfill your dream if you keep asking other's questions!"_ Giggling as he flushed inwardly, she smiled.

_'Fine then, as you're King, I'm simply asking for the advice of my advisors like all good Kings do!'_ He huffed childishly.

Hearing that, Kurama simply snorted in dark amusement. **"The time you'll be my King is the time you beat me one-on-one kit!"** Grinning toothily, he picked at his teeth. **"And even then, I'd just eat you if you get on my nerves."**

_'Oh joy; I can just feel the love.'_ Naruto stated sarcastically.

**"Tough love is the best love,"** Kurama agreed. **"But right now, you're just a gnat that's been recently upgraded from crap."**

_"What about me?"_ Ashe butted in in interest.

Grinning ferally, he bared his teeth. **"You're the duck that I'm going to enjoy rending with my glorious teeth!"** Teeth flashing in response, Kurama let out a deep throaty laugh before sinking back into the darkness of his cage.

Turning to each other mentally, both of them sighed in unison. _"Well…you can't really order me around unless you beat me one-on-one either, so good luck fishcake~!"_ And with that, she cut the connection making him pout. Besides, he was not ordering them…and so what if he wants to be a King. Huffing, he took a single pebble and it slowly rose into the air catching the retired Sandaime's attention.

Gaping, Hiruzen watched as the pebble began to slowly twist in the air before speeding around him in the air. "Naruto…what is this?" He asked curiously and a bit of amazement. "When did you learn about Wind-nature manipulation…and for that matter, how do you know how to use chakra!?" He pondered turning to the boy. The wheels and cogs in his mind churning in attempt to look for the answer.

Giving him an 'are-you-senile' look, he huffed. "I lived in the home of the Yondaime." He stared blankly making Hiruzen's eyes wince at the bite in his tone. "With how little anyone pay's attention to me, it'd be easy for me to sneak into the library and learn a bit here and there."

Eye's softening in regret, Hiruzen shook his head. "I'm sorry if I brought up some unpleasant memories."

"S'kay," Naruto shrugged casually. "I'm already used to it."

_'Well you shouldn't be!'_ Both Hiruzen and Ashe thought sadly in unison.

"Well, anyway," He started completely ignoring the previous conversation. "Most of the stuff wasn't very interesting, so I just looked at the part and unlocking my chakra and nature manipulation. Surprisingly, it was wind." He said with a smile. Flicking his index fingers up, another two pebbles shot into the air to join the first. "Well…what do you think?" He pondered looking up at the old man expectantly.

Staring at the speeding pebbles, he smiled. "I'd think you'd make an excellent Shinobi Naruto!" Looking down, he frowned when Naruto's smile become a bit more plastic. "…Naruto…exactly what made you want to learn any of this anyway? You are not in the Academy if I recall." A stupid move on Minato's part, but he wouldn't force Naruto's decision. If he doesn't want to be a Shinobi, then he doesn't have to.

Smile dropping for a moment, Naruto shook his head before three more pebbles rose into the air. "Well…as you're probably thinking, I did not want to be a Shinobi." Stopping for a moment, he looked up towards his Ero-jiji. "A Shinobi's duty is to serve his village with his life. They must do anything to have the village prosper, right?"

Nodding at that, Hiruzen's frown deepened. "That's only a couple points of being a Shinobi Naruto." He corrected the boy. "They also serve the village to protect their home as well as their families. For if their village was to fall, then their loved one's would be in danger. Tell me Naruto, if your home was attacked, would you protect it with all you're might?" He asked the boy.

Stopping to think about it for a moment, Naruto looked up. "Oji-san…what is a home supposed to be to you?" He asked curiously. Another four pebbles rose into the air to join the previous six.

Smiling, Hiruzen looked around the clearing and envisioned the village beyond. "During my rein as Hokage Naruto…a home to me was where my family felt safe and happy. A home is a place where I can know that I can always return to. As Hokage…Konohagakure was my home, and its villagers were my family. It was my job to ensure that they had a home to come back to and to protect them with all my might. They were my family, and this village was our home." Looking down to the staring child, he smiled warmly. "That is what a home to me is my boy. Even retired, I would defend it to my last breath." Taking a puff from his pipe, he stared into the sky above with a peaceful expression on his face.

"…Aren't you scared of dying?" Naruto asked quietly.

Staring at Naruto, a melancholy expression appeared on his face noting the slight stiffness of the child's shoulders. "I've lived a full life Naruto; I've seen many things and done things I myself am not proud of." He admitted making Naruto stiffen more. "But…I've also seen so much death in my time. As Hokage, I had to watch several of the younger generation pass before me, an old man." Taking another puff, he frowned. "Life after life, leaf after leaf, I had to watch them come and go while I stayed behind. Before I knew it, I was of the few that remained in my generation." Thinking of four others, he sighed. "At times, I even welcomed death…" Hearing Naruto's voice hitch up, his eyes softened. "But do you know why I keep fighting?"

"…Why?" Naruto asked after a moment.

"Because if I don't who will." He smiled softly. "I still have my family to watch and grow. Along with the village, my son and grandchildren are all I have left. I've seen so many go on without me, and I'm not about to let my remaining family be the next in line while I'm still alive. And so long as they still breathe and are happy, I will continue to fight until my last breath."

Bangs shadowing his eyes, Naruto snorted after a couple moments. "That's a sad way to die!" He scowled making his Ero-jiji frown. "If it was me, I wouldn't just up and die like that. I'd keep on fighting and fighting just to keep on living because what do you think happens after you die!?" Staring right in Hiruzen's eyes, his eyes flashed a blood red color making the old man stifle a gasp. "If you think dying for your loved ones will make them happy, then you're dead wrong. They'd be just as heartbroken as you would be if one of you saw your family died. So no! I will not die, and I will keep on coming back to keep them safe no matter who I fight!" Without warning, a small pulse of energy erupted from his being making the pebbles around his quiver.

Watching the proceedings from their positions, Ashe and Kurama could only stare. Ashe's eyes holding a fond sense of nostalgia while Kurama's in slight anticipation. "Whether it'd be man, shinobi, **demon, god, or the world itself,"** He snapped eyes flashing red periodically. **"Anything or anyone who dare's thing that they can harm what I claim as mine might as well be given a ticket straight towards oblivion!"** And with that, the pulse released once more and the surrounding pebbles shot up into the air and straight through the trees and the ones behind those. _**"And if they think that they can take me down with them…then they might as well give up all chances of surviving!"**_ After a couple seconds, all Hiruzen could do was stare at the boy in front of him. A look of shock and surprise mixed in with pride showing in his face.

Inside Naruto's mind, Ashe simply stared in slight remembrance. Looking ahead, she watched as a snow hair man shifted with Naruto's appearance and bit her lips. Kurama simply snorted before returning to sleep.

After a couple more moments of silence, Naruto, realizing what he just said, did a full body flush and babbled here and there trying to explain what he just said only for Hiruzen to laugh joyfully out loud. Hearing him laugh, he could only pout crossing his arms and turning away with a huff.

"Hahaha, I'm sorry Naruto," Hiruzen said with a brief laugh. "But, I guess that I still have things to learn if I'm still being upstaged by the youth of today!" Laugh dying down to low chuckles, he smiled warmly as he bent down and ruffled Naruto's hair making his scowl. "That was a good speech my boy, a good speech indeed! Are you sure you're not up to being a Shinobi!?" He asked.

"Nice try Ero-jiji, but I'm not aiming to be a Shinobi!" Naruto scowled sticking his tongue at the man. "It'd be a crime to hide these babies in the shadows!" He exclaimed flexing his muscles, or lack thereof like a couple day's prior.

Laughing once again, Hiruzen straightened his back and puffed in his pipe. "Hai, hai, and Naruto," He called making Naruto perk up. "You still haven't told me why you decided to learn how to use chakra!" Staring questionably at the boy, Naruto simply stared back before turning his head and clicking his tongue.

"The senile fool remembered." He whispered in a mock shocked tone just loud enough for said fool to hear.

Eye's twitching, Hiruzen frowned. _'Disrespectful brat,'_ He mumbled fondly.

Looking up with an innocent smile on his face, to innocent to be true, he grinned. "Anyway, the reason why I'm learning is because there isn't a law stating that I had to be enrolled in the Academy to do so!" Eye's rising at that statement, Hiruzen frowned. He doesn't indeed remember a rule like that. "Besides; what kid doesn't want to have awesome superpowers?" Naruto exclaimed excitedly making the retired Hokage chuckle.

"True, so true," Hiruzen admitted with a laugh. Taking another deep breath, he blew out a small ring of smoke before frowning. "Naruto…you mind if I ask you a question?"

Rolling around cross-legged, he tilted his head to the side before nodding. "What do you want to know Ero-jiji? Any question you ask and I'll answer to the best of my ability!"

"How is your relationship with your family?"

"Except for that one," Naruto said expression taking a complete one-eighty. His eyes staring blankly right into Hiruzen's own, he turned away after a couple seconds humming a small tune.

Sighing, Hiruzen could only shake his head. "Okay then, if not your mother and father…then what about your sister Natsumi?" Seeing the boy twitch, he nodded. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to, but tell me if you want to."

Staying silent for a couple moments, Naruto continued to hum while trailing his hand along the soft blades of grass. Seeing that the boy wasn't going to answer, the aged man simply sighed in acceptance. "Just let me give you one point of advice." Bending down slightly, he placed his hands on the boys left shoulder. "Don't hate your sister for your parent's mistake…that's all I'm asking of you! This is something a wise woman told me a while back, because you'll never know what you truly have until it's gone." Taking in a deep breath, Hiruzen suddenly felt a lot older than he actually was. "I made that mistake once…don't let it happen to you."

Keeping silent, Naruto simply hummed for a couple moments. "…that was two pieces of advice you senile old man!" He mumbled under his breath.

Chuckling softly, he nodded. "So it was, but as long as I'm able to kick your skinny little ass then I'm not senile gaki!" He proclaimed with a firm nod. Feeling Naruto's shoulders soften under his hand, he grinned softly before it turned lecherous. "Now tell me all about this female friend of yours! Is she cute!?" And with that followed by a cry, 'ERO-JIJI' and an old man's jolly laughter echoed in and beyond the clearing.

* * *

_**(Several Hours Later)**_

* * *

"…Kono-Baka Ero-jiji no Hentai," Naruto muttered irritably as he walked through the streets of Konohagakure. Really, what was up with that senile old man? Why does everyone in his life that **doesn't** hate his guts have to be a pervert!?

_"Hey, how dare you think that a lady of high quality such as myself as a pervert,"_ Ashe screamed in outrage making Naruto wince.

**"Vixen, with the things you think about doing with your mate…pervert ain't fucking enough women!"** Kurama put in his two cents with a vulpine grin. **"My, my; what oh what were you thinking about doing with blindfolds and handcuffs you were mumbling in your sleep about?"** The fox sang must to Ashe's squeaky outrage.

_"THAT'S IT FOX, PREPARE TO BECOME MY ACCESSORY!"_ And with that, the resulting rumble resulted in many headaches while he also learned a couple new words…that he probably wasn't supposed to have heard to begin with. He was curious about what Kurama meant by mate, but he'll leave it be since it was Ashe's story to tell.

Despite the small migraine they were causing him, he couldn't help but chuckle. Thinking about what his Ero-jiji said, he nodded with a smile. He was always questioning on why Cecilia-nee did what she did. Now he knows…and he's confused on whether to hate the fact that she'd done it or be happy that it proves that she loved him like family.

Hearing a roar of Bijuudama in his head along with Celestial Railgun, he winced at the resulting explosion that sounded within his head. What the hell was a gun anyway? Shaking his head, he looked around the street in slight boredom while ignoring the looks and whispers sent his way by the insects. Really, if they don't like him, then that can just ignore him! But then again, they are idiots.

Stopping for a moment, he looked up at the Hokage Monument and frowned as his eyes stopped at Minato's face that was etched into the mountain. Staring at it for a moment, he frowned as Hiruzen's last advice came to mind.

Staring uncomfortably at the mountain, he looked away. His thoughts not on Kushina or Minato, but on Natsumi…he probably hasn't been the best brother to her. While she hasn't been the best of sisters to him either, she never hated him unlike the villagers. She…she just didn't notice him because their parents kept her too preoccupied. All children want to know that that their parents love them…right?

…right. Looking closely at some of the villagers, he noted something that he had always ignored before. As the sound of children reached his ears, he watched silently as a married couple walked through the street. A small eight year old boy on the father's shoulders while a five year old girl held both parents hands…

Fingers twitching, he slowly turned back to the Monument and clenched his fingers tight. A small knot forming in his chest, he gritted his teeth and walked on through the street. He never noticed that the fighting in his head had long since stopped, and they were both watching their host's turmoil with a mixture of expressions.

_'…Ashe.'_ Naruto called quietly, his thoughts barely above a whisper.

Eyes saddening at his tone, she glared at the fox as he snorted. _"Hai, Naruto?"_

Staying silent for a couple moments, Naruto continued to walk. _'…Is it better to have known a family, yet the family wouldn't even care if you lived or died; or is it better to never have known your family, that way you could still keep the slim hope, that if their alive or dead, that they loved you with all your hearts.'_ His steps slowly coming to a stop, he frowned as he unknowingly stopped right outside the Namikaze's estate. _'…which is better?'_

Sadness growing in her eyes, she thought about his question with a small frown. She watched as a small drip of water trailed down Naruto's right eye as he continued to stare at the building in front. Even the normally stoic Kurama kept his mouth shut when he heard the question. They both had their collective thoughts, but they both had the same answer. They didn't know. From the beginning, they were raised by people who had truly loved them, so Naruto's question was something they really couldn't answer.

_"…That is a question that varies with the person Naruto." _She whispered. _"And sometimes…there are just some questions that just don't have any right answers."_ Feeling a short wave of sorrow fill the chamber, she shook her head sadly. Turning to her left, she watched as the door at the far end opened ajar slightly, a small pair of red eye's peeking out. _"…But what I do know…is that a family is not always born into. A family doesn't have to be of the same species, but of people that care and love each other and would go far and beyond to keep each other safe. Tell me Naruto…who do you consider a part of your family?"_

Keeping silent throughout the entire exchange, Kurama's eyes shifted towards the door at the far end and sighed internally as it disappeared. Eye's turning towards the woman, he frowned. Thinking on her words, a wizened old man and eight other creatures came to mind. _**'That woman…'**_ Closing his eyes, he took in a soft breath of air. _**'…how life would today would be…had she not interfered in the events fourteen years ago?'**_ That was something to think about for a while.

Back with Naruto, he simply kept silent as Ashe's words echoed in his thoughts. _'A family…'_ Closing his eyes, he opened them only to find that he had been staring at the estate for a good couple hours. Looking at the night sky above, he eyed the stars that littered the sky. The moon gone from sight, he simply turned away, and for a brief second, his eye's met a mirror version's up on the second floor's window. Lingering for a moment, he turned away and walked back in the streets of the village.

Stomach rumbling, he frowned. He hasn't really eaten anything today. But…looking around at the surrounding shops, he found that most of them were closed. Walking through the street, he looked at the stores that were open and frowned as some of the employee's in them caught him in their sight and glared.

Snorting, he continued to walk forward through the streets. Kurama and Ashe are no doubt asleep right now. He can't really visit Ten-chan because she out on a mission with her team for a couple days. Usagi-chan…he feels as if he would be imposing on her since they became friends not a couple days ago. And he's not going to bother Ero-jiji because of a small thing like hunger…_'in the middle of the night that is.'_ He thought with a small chuckle.

…and going to the Namikaze's for food…no. With the way things are between them, that'd be just wrong. Shaking his head, his stomach rumbled and he sighed. Well…this wouldn't be the first time he's gone without food. Just as he was about to walk to the direction of his home, he stopped with a small hand dropped onto his shoulders.

Stiffening, he slowly turned around and met into the worrying cerulean eyes of his sister. Stomach growling once more, he cursed his needy stomach and suddenly felt conscious of himself all of a sudden. "What is it you need?" He winced inwardly as his tone came out more cold than he had intended, but Natsumi didn't really seem to mind.

"Come with me Naruto," Was all she said before grabbing his hand with her own. "I know a place that's open at night." Tightening her grip on her brother's hand, she noted that he didn't resist her pull, and resisted from smiling. When she saw her brother outside of his own home, she had finally thought that he was going to come home, but was disappointed when he left. She hadn't seen him around the village for a couple of days no matter how hard she searched, and she wasn't going to give up this chance now! But his next words nearly stopped her cold.

"Are you sure that they'll accept **my** kind." And it didn't feel like he was asking a question.

Frowning, she simply led him around through the streets. "Of course they will. Their kind people who'll accept anybody," She said calmly, but the stiffness in his hand didn't go away. "The owner knew Okaa-san back when she was a Gennin." His hand seemed to soften somewhat much to her relief and joy, but not by much.

For the next few minutes, nothing was said between the two siblings, so Natsumi was grateful when the place appeared around the next corner. It was a small ramen bar called with a tarp hanging by its entrance. The words Ramen Ichiraku displayed in full red letters.

Letting Natsumi pull him into the stand, the overbearing scent of ramen scented in the air causing him to stop. Looking ahead, he spotted Natsumi walking towards two people. One of them was an old man with a white hat displayed on his head that had small red kanji on its bottom right. He wore white robes and a light blue apron and pants that seemed to have the leggings folded to his knees. He stood at a height of around '5'06'' while his woman who seemed to be his daughter stood at a height of '5'02''.

She was a slender looking woman around looking in her late teens. She had long brown hair with most of hits parted to the right side of her triangular fair skinned face. Her eyes were also the same shade as her eyes. She's wearing a white robe with the sleeves folded and a sort of dark blue apron with ribbons tied at the top and a bright white bandanna.

Hand still gripped tightly within Natsumi's grasp, he suddenly felt even more conscious of himself as the girl caught him in her range of sight. When her eye's narrowed for a bit, she marched right towards him before halting right in front of him and raised her hand…before softly poking his cheeks.

"Hey Natsumi-chan, are these whiskers real?" She asked curiously. Before she could answer though, she trailed her fingers along one of them and the entire restaurant was stunned to silent when a small purr erupted from Naruto's throat. Even Naruto's two occupants simply stared.

"_I am so~ blaming you for this fur ball!"_ Ashe muttered. The brat was cute enough with his features and boyish looks as it is, add purring and she'd have to fight off the fan-girls with a stick…on second thought, forget the stick. She's going with Excalibur!

"**What, the chicks love the purring!"** Kurama chuckled in amusement. **"It'll make us look cute and adorable…at least until we're in bed!"** He laughed grinning ferociously at that last bit.

Staring at him, Ashe turned away muttering only one word. _"Ero-kitsune,"_

And with Naruto, before he could jerk himself away he was pulled into a tight hug as the strange woman suddenly squealed. "Ah~, isn't he just the cutest little thing~!" She cooed before turning to a stunned Natsumi. "Natsumi-chan, can I keep him?"

Face flushing red, he jerked out of her grasp and was about to escape when Natsumi grabbed a hold of his hand tightly preventing his escape. A wickedly evil grin present on her lips and she innocently turned to the strange woman. "Sorry Ayame-chan, but I brought Naruto here because he hasn't really eaten anything in a while. So do you mind if you and Teuchi-san can whip us both up some miso and pork ramen?"

Nodding, Teuchi looked over the pot on the stove and frowned. "Are you sure Natsumi-chan, he looks like a coyote who's trying to gnaw off his own arm in attempts of freedom?" And indeed, when she turned around, while Naruto wasn't gnawing his arm, he was certainly trying to slip by somehow dislocating his wrist.

Eye's narrowing into slits, she grinned evilly as she dropped her arm around her brothers shoulders. "Oh he'll stay all right, he's just hasn't had much contact with girls, so when Ayame-chan suddenly hugged him, it came as a shock to him!" Meeting her brother in the eye, Naruto stiffened under her grasp as the silent message was sent. _'Stay or the entire fan-girl population will be aware of the boy who purrs!'_

Paling to a ghost white shade, he nodded stiffly as he sat on one of the nearby stools. Natsumi had just issued him a death sentence should he disobey. While fan-girls wouldn't seem much of a problem at first since he could just scare them away, he found out a while back that it was oh so much more.

If he recalled, the sole survivor of the Uchiha Massacre, Uchiha Sasuke, had managed to garner a horde of fan-girls with his dark persona. He heard that they find his mysteriousness alluring and that they'd want to be the ones to 'heal' his wounded soul. Him attempting to scare them off would probably only make them come back for more. And the fact that they tend to disobey any and all laws of reason thinking it as in the name of 'true love'…yeah, not a very good idea.

Watching as sat on the stool on the farthest corner, Natsumi couldn't help but wince inwardly. Maybe she should have gone for a softer approach. Exchanging playful threats are only reserved for good friends…and her relationship with Naruto is rocky as best…probably worse. Staying silent, she walked over and sat on the stool right next to Naruto's.

While the two ramen chef's exchanged silent glances, Natsumi observed her brother for a bit. Unlike the last time she talked to him, the Naruto she's facing right now seems more…meek. Maybe he was just using his anger at Tou-san and Okaa-san as a courage booster at the time to speak so…boldly. Maybe that's why he hasn't come home yet.

After a couple minutes, their ramen came and Teuchi and Ayame wisely backed out to the kitchen. "…Which one do you want Naruto, pork or miso?" Natsumi asked giving him a nervous smile. After a couple moments, she inwardly breathed a sigh of relief as he responded by choosing the pork.

Watching as he began eating, she couldn't help but dig into her own. The silence was awkward, and she couldn't really think of anything to say. Her brother doesn't really seem to be in the mood for responding. Every time she tried to speak up, Naruto would only stiffen before resuming his meal. Three minutes later, they both finished their respective bowls without saying a single word to each other.

Just as she was about to put down the money for the meal, she heard the quick jingling of change and watched as Naruto two thousand yen notes on the counter. Enough to pay for both of them, before walking right out of the bar, with Natsumi quickly following after saying thank you.

Staring after them in confused concern, Ayame turned to see an odd look in her father's eyes. "Otou-san…?"

Turning back to the kitchen, Teuchi simply began to clean the dishes. "I knew things were bad for the Namikaze's…but I never thought it was this bad." He mumbled to himself. "How on earth will you fix this one Minato, Kushina?" Ayame simply looked at her father in confusion, not really understanding what's going on.

"Otou-san…did you know that boy?" She asked him.

"Personally, no…but by reputation…yes." Teuchi stopped. "…That boy is Namikaze Naruto…or as the majority of Konoha would call him…The Hero's Blemish…and to other's…The Forgotten Son…"

* * *

_**(With Natsumi)**_

* * *

When Natsumi left the ramen bar, she couldn't find her brother anywhere. It was like he disappeared. A flicker of gold moving at the corner of her eyes, she snapped her head around just in time to see a mop of blond and red spikes disappearing around the next corner.

Sprinting right after him, she turned at the corner and found Naruto already at the end of the street taking a right. She didn't know how he got there so fast since the street was around several yards long, but she just continued running. But every time she turned a corner, Naruto would be doing the same at the other end of the street.

This happened several times as she continued chasing after her brother. To her, he was like a ghost. Reappearing at one point, but disappearing at the next second without so much as a notice. After about thirty minutes of full on running, sweat was dripping down her chin as she rounded around the next corner. Naruto simply doing the same at the end of the street looking completely fine, "What kind of stamina does he have for kami's sake?" A lot apparently…her mother told her that male Uzumaki's had a lot more stamina that than their female counterparts…who had three times as much as your average male shinobi, but this was just ridiculous.

Regaining her second wind, she sprinted forward for a couple seconds before rounding at the next corner. She saw Naruto walking along the street, but it was the street that surprised her. There was a bunch of neon colored sign's that flashed periodically in the night. Not only that, the street was completely filled with people who seemed to be fully awake in the middle of the night. What's more, there was more than your normal average of drunks.

Was this the red light district that her father told her to never go to? If so, why was Naruto here? Looking back and forth between her brother and the street that surrounded him, her eyes hesitated. Looking at her brother, she saw that he was about to disappear into the next corner again and quickly made a decision.

Racing across the streets, she weaved through the crowd of people and turned the next corner. When she saw no sign of Naruto, she was about to search when a hand slammed down on her shoulder from behind shocking her before forcefully turning her around. Her eyes meeting her flaring brothers who grabbed her hand tightly and began pulling her along.

She was too confused by the events that before she knew it, they were walking up a set of stone steps before stopped at an open balcony with a multitude of doors on its left side and an open terrace the right. Naruto had pulled her at to the end of the hallway, pulled out a key, and unlocked the door next to him and entered with her in two. Three seconds later, she was on a chair opposite of a glaring and most likely seething Naruto Namikaze.

"What in the world were you thinking when you followed me here!?" He seethed angrily. His eyes flashing red several moments telling her how angry he was with her.

"W-w-w-what do you mean by th-"

"What I mean is that the daughter of the **Yondaime,"** He spat angrily. "**Has no place walking around in the Red-Light district in the middle of the NIGHT!"** Naruto shouted angrily, his voice distorting as his eyes flashed to a deep red color. **"I mean what on earth were you thinking when doing such a stupid stunt girl?"** Turning to glare right into Natsumi's eyes, he waited for an answer.

Frozen, her cerulean blues stared right into her brothers furious blood red eyes. All she could do was staring in silence as she clasped her hands together underneath the table. Her hands shaking, she took a slow deep breath and glared right back at him. "…I was thinking that I wanted to get to know my only brother better before the chance passes me by." She whispered under her voice. "I was thinking…that maybe it was time for me to finally get my act together and started acting like your sister." Voice rising, she kept her gaze firm. "I was thinking…that maybe watching my brother go **into** said red light district was a cause of concern since I haven't seen you for more than a couple days."

Eyeing the girl coldly, he was about to give her his own biting response when he saw her shoulders shaking. Eye's flickering out his window; he scowled seeing the pitch black sky. Giving her a pointed glare, he gritted his teeth. "And you know what I'm thinking," He started, tone biting. "I'm thinking that you should just leave me alone, **all of you!"** And with that, he walked towards his bedroom leaving a stunned Natsumi behind. Her shoulders shaking as she heard clearly what Naruto just said.

_'…he really does hate us.'_ She thought shakily. Hearing footsteps, she slowly turned to see Naruto come out with a towel and some clothing. "Go take a shower, and go to bed right afterwards." It wasn't a request; that much she knew from the coldness that raged in his tone. Nodding shakily, she stood up and took the spare clothing and walked to the room her brother showed her.

Closing the door after she entered, he gripped the handle tightly. Gritting his teeth, he removed his hand showing a crushed doorknob. Turning around, bangs hiding his eyes, he looked at the door and gritted his teeth. The girl did a fucking stupid move, he was sure of.

_"Don't you think your being too hard on the girl?"_ Ashe asked concerned. She had never once seen Naruto explode like that before. It was quieter in the morning, but this time he completely let go of his emotions. _"She was just worrying about you!"_

Kurama snorted in response to that. **"That may be true, but the girl did it at the wrong place at the wrong fucking time!"** Claws flexing, he grunted. **"There's a time and place for everything, and right now, the girl might as well have put a large fucking target on that head of hers."**

Wincing at that, Ashe frowned. _"That may be true, but she doesn't know anything about Naruto's standing in the village!"_ She disagreed. _"Besides, she's the daughter of their hero and leader; surely they won't try anything…right?"_ She asked with an unsure look in her tone.

The fox was about to retort, but Naruto beat him to it. _'Ashe…you may still believe in the goodness of humanity, but you also forget at times about how horrible they can be at the same time. To them, it's just a thin line on the spectrum with the arrow falling in either direction.'_ Closing his eyes, he walked over to his window and glared at the people below. _'And good or bad, they'll do it with a smile on their faces. That's the type of race Humanity is…and I experienced their cruelty first hand.'_

Feeling her wince, he sighed after a moment's silence. _'…I'll…talk to her in the morning.'_ He sighed. _'There was a reason why I met up with Usagi-chan in secluded places, but there is no doubt there were witnesses that saw what transpired a couple minutes ago…and rumors flies fast.'_

_"…Does that mean you're going to try and…"_ She trailed off her unasked question.

_'…Natsumi, yes…but to the others…'_ Humming in thought, he sighed. Really, all week he had been wondering how to approach his sister and she does it herself by following him. Into the Red-light district of all places! Dropping down into the chair, he ran his fingers through his locks and suddenly felt a lot older than he actually was.

Eyeing their exchange in silence, Kurama decided to put in his two cents. **"You know they're going to try something, don't you." **It wasn't a question.

Looking out the window, he scoffed. _'They think of me as you Kurama…and if they do try anything, I'll simply show them what they want to see!'_ Eye's darkening; he looked up into the sky right at the New Moon. _'They just won't live to tell the tale.'_

Staring with unblinking eyes, Ashe only nodded. _"…I just hope it doesn't come to that."_


	6. Chapter 5

_**I do not own anything that belongs to Naruto and all original characters and moves are mine**_

_**Chapter 5**_

* * *

_Calm blue eye's blinking; he kept his hand pressed against his lips to keep him from breathing to loud. It was dark. It was cold. But the outside was filled with clattering footsteps and shouting. Looking down, he eyed the orange striped cat with a small smile. The cat looked back at him with a tilt of its head. After keeping his stare for a couple moments, Tora pressed her head against his free hand and sprinted off from the hole in the battered wooden crate he was in._

_ After a couple seconds, nothing changed, but after a couple more moments, a loud sound clanged. Metal maybe…? The people outside stopped to listen and the clattering of glass and small pitter-patter of feet caught their attention. Shouts were ensued and they run off shouting yell's filled with malice and hate._

_ Closing his eyes, he listened and waited until the footsteps slowly leaved the alley they were in. After silence blanketed the area, he kept silent for a couple more minutes. Fear and expectance reminding him how some of them stayed behind keeping silent. As If waiting for him to just up and walk out of his hiding place._

_ Frowning, no footsteps sounded and he could only hear the pitter-patter of the rain dripping on the ground. Waiting for a couple more minutes, he was about to move when the sound of heavy breathing closed in. An eye blinking as it searched through the small hole that was right above his head. Frozen stiff, he tightened his muscles and had to force himself to not shake. Tear's dripping from the corners of his eyes as the heavy breathing slowly went away._

_ After a couple more moments, he heard nothing by the rain and his own ragged breathing. Dull blue eyes drifting down, he eyed his limp right arm impassively. Small streams of blood lining down his shoulders where it looked twisted. Dislocated shoulder…_

_ Thinking on it, he shook his head. This'll be harder to hide. It's easy to hide things from his family because they don't really notice him. But Cecilia-nee notices a lot of things. Some times when he forgets to properly tie the bandages under his arms, small drips of blood leak out from his sleeves and she homes in on it like a hawk._

_ She doesn't question it, but she doesn't like it. That much he can tell. Oddly enough though, for some time now, the people who have been injuring him have slowly decreased. He never saw the same person twice in the mobs anymore. Before he could think about it anymore, a small meow caught his attention._

_ Spotting Tora entering the crate, he smiled and scratched her behind the ears. Looking at his shoulder, he grimaced. Looking at it carefully, he positioned himself carefully and turned to the cat in confirmation. The cat's ear's twitched, and after a moment, nodded. Meeting her with a small nod, he threw his body against the side and slammed his shoulder against the crate. The resulting snap making him grit his teeth tightly as whimpers escaped his throat._

_ Staying silent, he waited to gather his breath. Opening his eyes, he shifted his form and crawled over to the edge of the crate only to drop. His eyes blurring as his left arm seemed to have splashed in something. Hearing a frantic nyahh, he eyed the small puddle of red that had unknowingly formed under him._

_ "…ah…I'm so…sleepy." He mumbled wearily. "…wonder if…Cecilia-nee will…look for me?" With that in mind, he slowly blinked._

_ …he felt cold…he felt so tired…maybe…he should just…take a little…nap. Cecilia…nee would…forgive him. Closing his eyes, he began to feel numb. He found it hard to move. He found it hard to think. He found it hard to stay awake. And in the end, everything slowly went black. A small white light being the last thing he sees, and the sound of a woman's singing, being the last thing he hears._

_ …standing over the small blonde, a short figure ran her fingers through his blonde locks. 'I hate it…' The figure thought. '…why won't father let me take him? It not fair,' eyeing the blood that seeped around his clothing, her eyes darkened as she trailed her finger along the warm puddle. Hearing the pitter-patter of feet and familiar angry shouting, she stiffened._

_ Eye's flashing eerily; she kept her eyes on her little fishcake even as torch carrying people came into the alley filled with curses and screams. "Hmmm…father," She spoke aloud, loud enough for everyone to hear. "…they harmed him…they harmed my little fishcake…"_ _Shadows shifting wildly around her, the group of villagers could only stand frozen as an unbearable weight slammed down on them from above. The walls cracking and the air leaving their lungs…the last thing they saw were demonic amethyst jewels. __**"…Kieru."**_ _And everything went dark._

* * *

_**(Flashback End)**_

* * *

Cerulean blue eyes snapping open, Natsumi took in a deep breath of air as sweat dripped down her cheeks. Her heart ramming against her chest as the visage of the demonic amethyst eyes stared right back at her…or at someone else. Shivering, she shook her head as she buried her head deeper into the pillow under her.

The dream looked so real. It felt so real. The rain against her skin…the warm puddle of blood under her…the soft feeling of the boy's locks trailing between her fingers. Raising her right arm above her, she stared at it while flexing her fingers. What was that about? She never had a dream that felt so real before.

Sighing, her eyes noted that her ceiling was painted a different color. Frowning, she growled. Her repainted her red walls with burnt orange. Just as she was about to move, she felt something tightly wrapped around her waist. Hearing a mumble, she turned to see her brother cuddling up against her back. His arms wrapped around her waist as he buried his head into the ridge of his neck.

Feeling heat rush to her cheeks, she immediately recalled what happened the previous night. She spotted Naruto. She took him for ramen, and he ended up paying before abruptly leaving. She followed him into the red light district. He took her…to wherever she is. He was furious, and he coldly told her to take a shower and sleep.

Flush dying down to a small red spot on her cheeks, she squirmed as Naruto tightened his grip around her. Sighing, she was about to pull a quick Kawarimi when she felt something cold and tingling trail along her stomach. Feeling a strange jolt pass through her, her eyes snapped down were she saw Naruto slowly waking up. His hands trailing up her waist and the light blue pajama shirt that Naruto had given her the night before. His cold fingers tracing along the lines of her stomach eliciting a small giggle from, he wearily pulled her in closer. She didn't know Naruto cuddled in his sleep.

Just as she was about to pull away, another giggle escaped his lips before she planted her hands over her lips. Holding the urge to break out in another fit of giggles, she looked and watched as Naruto's fingers were wiggling around her sides. Turning around, a giggle escaped her lips while she inwardly cursed. Her brother was asleep, that was fact, but what was he dreaming about that involved that deviously small frown of his.

Pulling her in closer, Naruto mumbled tiredly as his pillow tried to pull away. It's been a while since he had a warm pillow before. Before this, he was always feeling cold when he slept. The last time he had a warm pillow was when he last met Cecilia-nee before her…death. But those times with Cecilia, the pillow only tried moving away the first couple times, so he simply pulled in tighter like he's doing now to prove its futility. He liked it when it was warm. He liked it when it was cold. But he didn't like it when one was without the other…it felt sad…it felt lonely. And he didn't like lonely.

Flexing his fingers, he tightened his grip on his pillow like object and smiled as his hand seemed to sink into it. Taking to tracing his hand around the pillow, he smiled. Whenever he did this, the pillow usually stopped moving after a couple seconds. They wiggled of course, but they stopped moving. Tracing his fingers along its softness, he involuntary chuckled in weariness as the pillow jerked. Halting the traces, he kept still for a couple moments when he was sure the pillow wouldn't move away anymore. Smiling after a couple moments, he buried himself deeper into the soft, warm pillow and slept. Feeling something being traced along his whiskers, he couldn't help but let out a small smile, a purr escaping his lips as he nuzzled his cheeks against the pillow at the odd, yet desirable feeling. That was before he decided to bite the thing that touched him and licked it resulting him in being pushed back.

Eye's snapping open; he yawned and stared at the girl in front of him and blinked once, twice, and trice times. She had long red hair and cerulean blue eyes with a heart-shaped face and fair skin. She was wearing a familiar pair of light blue pajama tops and pants. And whats more, she was horribly flushed, panting, and had her hands wrapped around her chest while her clothing looked disheveled.

Running his fingers through his hair, he stared and she glared back with a periodical giggle escaping her lips and a red flush. "…Well, now I know what I thought was delicious." He muttered just loud enough to hear. Natsumi turned a flaming red at those words while Naruto slowly flexed his hands, "Ah…soft like marshmallows…wonder how they taste!" And without a second thought, a pillow was slammed into his face and the sound of a door opening and slamming shut echoed in the room.

Humming in amusement, Naruto removed the pillow from his face and chuckled. "Ah…Natsumi's so sensitive…" Grinning, he gained a slightly feral look in his eyes. "Pity we're too young." In three years…maybe…

_"…Naruto."_ Uh oh, Ashe didn't really sound all that happy.

_'…Yes.'_

_"If I ever find a way to get out of here, your dead brat,"_ She said in a frosty whisper. _"Or when you come in here…like playing with marshmallows huh, well I'm sure they'll just __**love**__ you!" _And with that, she just cut off the connection with a snap.

Wincing, Naruto chuckled nervously and hummed in thought at the sound of the shower starting. _'Ah…Ashe is angry, and Natsumi must have worked up a sweat.'_

Frowning, he hummed. _'How long will she be mad Kurama?'_ He asked the great fox.

Hearing his name, the fox simply snorted. **"She's just mad because she hasn't gotten any in a while!"** Ignoring the shout of outrage, Kurama chuckled one of his tails rebounded a particularly powerful beam of light. **"Besides, I know you were half awake when you were snuggling the girl,"** Raising a single brow, he blinked. **"What made you continue?"**

Humming in thought to that, he simply shrugged. _'I wouldn't really know how to start a conversation with how yesterday ended. Doing this would relieve the tension, and it helped me calm down a bit after remembering the stunt she pulled.'_

_"Which I still say wasn't her fault entirely!"_ Ashe interjected before shutting the link.

Chuckling nervously, he nodded wearily. _'Besides, the main reason was that I was feeling cold, and I liked the warmth I hadn't felt for so long!'_ His cooling fingers attested to that.

Staring for a moment, the great beast huffed in amusement. **"I think that book affected you more than you would like to admit!"** Granted, anyone would have trouble thinking straight after reading such an abomination…especially at such a young age.

Eye's twitching at that comment, he glared into space. _'Excuse me, but at least I'm gentlemanly about it.'_

**"You cuddled a girl just a couple seconds ago."** The fox pointed out with a fanged grin.

_'I was half-asleep and was ruled by memorial relapses at the time.'_ He retorted irritably. _'A couple of years in the cold in not healthy for a growing boy with two extra bantering soul located somewhere in his stomach.'_

**"You still enjoyed it!"**

That shut him up, so Naruto simply replied with an annoyed growl while Kurama laughed at yet another victory. His tails traced out another line on the side of his cage showing the score between him and his host; Naruto…21, Kurama…735.

Sighing…he thought about Ashe's recent change in attitude and frowned. She's been getting angrier lately. He doesn't like it when she's angry at him. He doesn't like it at all. If she wasn't somehow stuck in his seal, he would have thought that she'd just up and leave him. Thinking about Cecilia-nee, he sighed. It wouldn't have been the first time after all.

Finger's twitching; he looked down to see that he was still in the same state of dress as last night. After a quick change of clothes, a blue and burnt orange of his vest with black pants and a red shirt with a black spiraling crystal on it. But in the middle was his favorite trinket. Eyeing the crystal pendant fondly, he nodded before setting to work.

When Natsumi had come out of the shower twenty minutes later, looking fresh and clean, he had already finished a nice seething breakfast of bacon and eggs with some toast. Common, but it was quick to make and it was good when made right. Seeing the look of surprise on Natsumi's face when she noticed the food, he silently hummed. "Sit down and eat." Ouch, seeing her flinch, he guessed that his tone came out frosty. Muttering out a quick, "Ittadakimasu," He began to dig in, only to stop when he noticed that Natsumi still haven't taken a seat.

"Go ahead and eat or I'm taking more than just a lick." He said casually jabbing his fork into his eggs. Hearing her squeak in embarrassment, he couldn't hold back the grin that formed on his face. "Though I've got to say, now that I had a taste, these eggs feel…unsatisfactory," Eye's drifting towards the flaming red sister, he hummed in amusement. His visage darkening as an eerie glint flashed in his sharp vulpine eyes. "Shall I go for dessert I wonder!?" Seeing her do a full body blush even brighter than her hair, he laughed as she started to stutter and mumble rapidly while trying to get a good hold of her...chopsticks?

"It's called a fork." Naruto commented without looking up from his meal. "Think of them like kunai, and gently jab them into the eggs before picking it up and putting in your mouth. Here, watch." Jabbing his fork into his eggs, he twisted it slightly before lifting it and plopping it into Natsumi's open mouth. "It's a common utensil used in the western continents." Was all he said before digging into his meal! Stopping for a moment, he looked at his fingers and hummed before reaching over the table and placing a fork correctly into her hands. "There, not exactly jabbing, but kinda've like poking…maybe." Staring at it for a moment, he jabbed at his meal for a moment with a look of confusion on his face.

Watching this, Natsumi's full body flush died down to a small hint of red dust. The situation she was in was weird. From being molested by her half-asleep brother to have said brother flirting and making her breakfast all at the same time and now he was looking confused about using…a fork was it? Yeah. It was weird…but…

_'At least Naruto doesn't seem so angry anymore.'_ A small smile making its way to her lips, she started eating following what Naruto had showed her. _'In fact…it almost looks like we're a family now…especially when it should have been like this to begin with.'_ Frowning at that thought, she sighed. But still, did he have to be so perverted?

Looking down towards her chest, she blushed as she remembered Naruto's hands playing with them, squeezing them, and pinching them. Just thinking about it made her flush a darker shade of red much to her brother's amusement.

Finishing his eggs, he looked around and hummed in irritation. Pushing the chair back, he got up and moved to the fridge opening it before pulling out a carton of orange juice. A couple seconds later, he was back at the table with two full glasses. "Sorry, I forgot the drinks." Taking a small sip, Naruto hummed in contentment.

"Naruto," Natsumi called out nervously.

"Yes." He already knew what she wanted to ask.

"Why are you living at an apartment?"

"Because I needed a place to live," he replied calmly eating his bacon.

"But what about our home, you live there to!" She exclaimed, tone a bit higher.

Taking a bite of toast with a crunch, he swallowed with some juice. "If I recall, there had only been three dinner plates at the table for quite some time now." He replied in a monotone voice making Natsumi wince.

"But, why would you come here?" She asked confused. "From how you acted yesterday, this place was a dangerous place to be at night." She asked with slight incredulity.

Humming in thought, he took in some more juice. "It was more dangerous for you than for me." He answered with a frosty undertone. "A female teen that's one of the prettiest in her generation walking around in the middle of the night alone, and is also the daughter of the Yondaime and Aka no Shi. She then enters a place filled with gamblers, drunks, and shady people that walk about the streets at night and expects it to be safe." Stabbing his fork down, he unconsciously putto much pressure and cracked right through the plate. "Yeah, that was a stupid move on your part." He said turning to stare at her rapidly paling face. "A really fucking stupid move considering that you also hold a piece of the Kyuubi no Kitsune inside of you. Soul or not, the Red-Light district is filled with people who lost their homes to the attack and holds no doubt much hatred for anything related to the fox…especially its holders." Crushing the fork in his hand, he jerked away from the seat and pulled up a trash can. "If you think earlier was pleasant, then they'll go farther, and it'll be much closer to hell."

Images making its way to her face, she turned green as she slowly began to shake at the thought. "Then why the hell are you living here if it's so fucking dangerous-dattebane?" She asked shakily with a bit of anger in her tone.

"I live here because they've seen death once straight in the face." Dropping the broken pieces into the trash, he took another sip of juice and continued. "After you show them that you're not afraid of making sure it happens a second time, and make sure it takes them, then they'll leave you alone. Unlike the other side of the village, the people of the red lights aren't suicidal idiots that know when to stop less they lose what little they have."

Gaping at what was being insinuated; she couldn't help but shake in both fear and in rage. "H-h-how long had this been happening?" She asked in a mixture of gritted teeth and sucked breathing.

"Who ever said it stopped?" Was all Naruto answered with! Before she could ask another question, Naruto stopped her by saying something odd. "In a way you're lucky." He spoke to her before grabbing a towel.

"How is this lucky!?" She raged through gritted teeth. "My brother had just told me that he'd been attacked and hurt by the village our father protects and none of us even knew about it. Our family is broken! SO HOW AM I LUCKY!?" She shouted jerking away from the table dropping the seat.

"You're lucky because you knew a parents love." He retorted in his usual frosty tone. "You're lucky because you've been protected. You're lucky because Namikaze was actually smart in his decision in only announcing that I was the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune." And with that, he removed his shirt showing her a back filled with a multitude of scars. They were only there for a second, but when he moved it was like they vanished. And with that, Naruto disappeared into the shower letting Natsumi gap at what she was just given. But Naruto spoke one last sentence before he closed the door. "And revealing it to begin with was the most moronic thing he's done as well."

When Naruto walked out of the shower nice and clean, Natsumi was no longer there. She had eaten her food and cleaned up her dishes, but she had decidedly left while he was taking a shower. _'…that girl.'_ Silently humming, he thought after a moment and cleaned his dishes. _'Wonder how she took it.'_ Thinking on it for a moment, the apartment was empty not a moment later.

* * *

_**(With Natsumi)**_

* * *

Silently walking down the street, she continued to ignore the whispers and odd looks she continued to get from the surrounding villagers. They were looks of suspicion and confusion. There was even some of hatred. Why were they looking at her like that? Just the other day they treated her like any other person in the village. Albeit a bit better due to her father, but they never showed her looks of hatred before.

So why, why are they acting so differently now? Recalling her brother's words about the villagers, she began to grow increasingly nervous. Straightening her back, she eyed the small glint that shined around her neck. Looking down, she took a look at her Shinobi headband and thought.

…She was a Kunoichi of Konohagakure. She worked through the Academy at the top of her class becoming the Kunoichi of the Year. Yet why…why was she showing fear to a bunch of villagers who suddenly changed their opinions of her all of a sudden? And more importantly, why does she care about what stranger's thought of her!?

Shaking her head, she felt turned around and watched as a small pebble shot past her nose. Snapping her head around, she glared at everyone in the street looking for the culprit and frowned. Keeping silent for a couple minutes, she cracked her knuckles. Her bright red hair radiating a glowing red aura as the tips split into nine separate tails. Smiling sweetly, she stared at the villagers around her with glint that promised nothing but suffering in her eyes. "If all you can do is talk behind peoples back…" She started slowly, the phantasm of a raging fox roaring behind her. **"…then I suggest you quit it-dattebane!"** And with that, she continued on her way with a snort. The villagers no longer glaring at her and finally remember just exactly **who** she was.

**The second coming of the Akashi no Habanero!** Really, staring at her stray locks of deep red hair, she huffed. On the first day of the Academy, she was nervous because it would have been the first time she'd have been out of the house. Otou-san was very protective of her, especially after the Hyuuga Incident and Uchiha Massacre.

From what she recalled, there was supposed to have been a peace treaty between Kumogakure and Konohagakure ten years ago. Long story short, the envoy attempted to kidnap a Main Branch Hyuuga child but was killed by said child's father in the end. To makes matters worse, the Raikage demanded compensation for killing their shinobi while at the same time denying any knowledge of such an event. She didn't really like Kumogakure because of how they tried to kidnap her mother all when she was a Gennin.

Anyway, they couldn't really prove that they did do it either because they killed the envoy, so they had to follow their demands to avoid war. The demand was a corpse for a corpse, a Hyuuga corpse for that matter. She has no clue what happened after that, but she didn't like it. Why can't they just fucking admit that they tried to kidnap a child!? Shinobi Politics, you gotta hate 'em.

As for the Uchiha Massacre, all she knows about that one is that a lone Uchiha killed the entire clan in a single night by himself. Uchiha Sasuke, a stupid teme in her class was the only survivor. If he had a stick up his ass from before the Massacre, then he replaced it with a spiked twenty foot long Kunai!

Shaking her head at that, she clicked her tongue before resuming her walk to her destination. She got sidetracked. She should be thinking on how to deal with her brother's situation, not about past conflicts…though if she ever meets a Kumo Shinobi, then she's shoving a flaming spiked chakra chain up where the sun don't shine if they fucking annoy her.

…Speaking of chakra chains…Naruto's not sage from them either for being a huge pervert. _'I mean, c'mon, who fucking gropes someone when their half-asleep. He didn't even apologize!'_ He even suckled on her neck. Thinking on that for a moment, she snapped her hands to where her brother bit her neck and flushed. Pulling her hair over her shoulders, she huffed. Tracing her thumb against the spot, she couldn't help but wonder…_'Maybe she shouldn't have washed that spot…'_ Before immediately flushing a deep red and throwing that into the shredder in her mind and burning it with the passion of a thousand suns. Oh yeah, the boy will get it!

In another area, a multicolored haired boy couldn't help but feel as if the devil walked over his grave…and grinned. _'Ah…Akahime's thinking about me…how cute!'_ Now if only he could find her and somehow convince her for another 'cuddle' session.

Back with Natsumi, she felt a tingle go up her spine and flushed. _'My-stupid-brother-thinking-perverted senses are tingling!'_ Stopping, she blinked at that last thought. That was…strange! Shrugging it off, she continued walking and turned the next corner only for someone to bump into her.

Stumbling back, she looked down and raised a brow. "Koko-chan, what are you doing here?" Helping the girl up to her feet, she noticed the small odd cube on the ground and cackled inwardly for some reason. Feeling hesitant brown eyes on her, she picked it up and passed it over to Koko-chan.

Clutching the cube to her chest, Tetsumi Kokoro could only stare as one of the most popular students in her class had begun to talk to her. "Hello…Namikaze-san," She greeted with a whisper. "Ano…how do you…know my…name?" Natsumi never really talked to her as she spent most of her time fighting with Uchiha-san.

Blinking, Natsumi simply shrugged. "Why wouldn't I know my classmates names?" She asked confused. Okaa-san said it was best to memorize her classmate's names because she'll never know if they'll be her comrades in the future or not. "What's with that cube anyway?" She asked pointing to the black object. Looking at it now, it looked about as big as her fist.

Blinking nervously, she tightened her grip on the object. "…It's for…a friend." She whispered. "…I wanted…to show him…my thanks…"

Staring, she simply nodded. "Okay," She wasn't going to intrude on her personal affairs. "But him…? Did you find yourself a boyfriend since the last time I saw you?" She asked with a teasing smile.

Instead of flushing, Kokoro only smiled softly instead. "No…but…he's nice…and goofy. He helps me…and I feel…safe when around…him." Giving her a sad smile, she shook her head. "He reminds me…of Tou-chan…"

Staring at her, she couldn't help but chuckle. _'Looks like someone got friend zoned.'_ Though for some reason, she felt relief at that. Weird…

"So what's your friend's name, maybe I know him!" She asked curiously. A boy who could get through to the quite Koko-chan like this must be special in some way. Maybe he could give her some tips on how to bring back Naruto?

Staring up at her, Kokoro frowned in thought. Fingering the cube in her hands, she thought about it. _'Namikaze-san does seem to know a lot of people,' _and she hasn't exactly been able to find him in a since two days ago. She was worried for her first friend. "…Do you know…a…" Feeling someone push through her shoulders from behind, she stumbled forward into Natsumi's arms.

Catching her, she growled out to the man that pushed her and saw that he was glaring at them, more specifically her. "Oi, whats the big idea-dattebane," She shouted steading Koko-chan. "Why did you push her!?"

Snorting, the man simply walked past them almost shoving right into Natsumi's shoulder as well. The keyword being almost; because she quickly stepped to the side, tripped him, and pushed him away with a quick shove. "Really, first you push my friend, and now you try to push me!" She shouted angrily. "What the hell-ttebane!"

Blinking, Kokoro could only stare as she just heard Namikaze-san proclaim her a friend. Her, the dead-last of the Academy; she would have thought about it more, but she quickly noticed the vacant space around her hands and found the cube missing. Looking around frantically, she spotted it around the feet of the man Namikaze-san pushed away.

Said man quickly getting up in anger and said something she didn't really expect. "I don't need to explain myself to you **demon whore!**" He snapped back at her.

Looking around nervously, she looked up towards Namikaze-san's face only to see an expression mixed with shock and absolute rage. Hearing whispers, she turned around to see a crowd staring and crowding around them. They were all glaring at them with such hateful eyes. She didn't like it. She didn't like it at all.

But in less than a second, Namikaze-san's hand flexed for a moment before snapping forward. Her fist slammed into the man's jaw with enough force to shove him into the crowd. "If you don't have anything nice to say,** then shut the hell up."** She said frostily. "Now apologize to Koko-chan and we'll be on our way-ttebane!" She finished glaring balefully at the surrounding crowd around her.

But instead of backing off, they seemed to whisper even louder with more hate filled voices. To Natsumi, they were only stupid idiots that need to back off before she sends them to the fucking hospital. But to Kokoro, it was something different.

As she continued to listen to the hate filled whispers, she continued to shrink back into herself. Covering her ears tightly with her hands, she couldn't help but try to calm herself down. The whispers filled with hatred and malice still reaching her ears. The sounds vibrating in her ear drums as her eyes began to take a small distinctive orange color. The people around her quickly changed to distinctive blood red color with black glowing eyes.

Wincing slightly, a scratching sound pierced through her ear drums as the red masses began to close in around her. Their hateful gazes turning on them as the sky above seemed to darken. Breathing heavily, she was about to collapse when a small clear voice pierced through the screeching. '_Do you want it all to stop?'_ the voice asked her.

Confused, she nodded and blinked in surprise not a moment later. Looking around, she found herself in a clear white area. It looked exactly like the street she had been walking on, but all the color had been taken out. It was like she was staring into a black and white photo. Sighing in relief for a moment, she heard an all too familiar voice crack the black and white surroundings.

"I guess in the end, bugs will still think like bugs." A voice commented monotonously. And with that, the color returned in a blink. Turning towards the voice, she smiled softly as the crowd parted ways. Naruto's form walked right through it as he glared balefully at the surrounding people.

Just as he was about to call, someone else beat her to it. "Naruto, what are you doing here?" Natsumi asked frowning.

Staring at her, Naruto hummed in irritation and noted Usagi-chan's form behind her. Looks like she unknowingly got involved as well…but, the rumors spread faster than he thought it would. "I'm here to talk to an annoying host who rudely leaves without even saying goodbye." Glaring at her sheepish form, he twitched when a pebble slammed into his head.

"HEY, WHO THE HELL THREW THAT!?" Natsumi raged at the crowd. Her eyes flashing red making the crowd gasp in fear and whispers.

Feeling a small stream of blood trail down his temple, he snorted. Turning his head, he glared at the man with a purple bruise on his chin. _'Ah…the bug that Akahime hit…'_ "I suppose you were the one who threw that." It wasn't a question.

"So what if I did demon brat!" The man challenged arrogantly. "You and your kind don't belong in this village, so just take your whores and get out!" Seeing the anger flash in the man's eyes, he hummed in thought.

Feeling something soft dab at his wound, he smiled softly when Usagi-chan started wiping the blood away with a napkin. "Usagi-chan…Natsumi…you both heard him proclaim his attack on me right?" He asked with a smile.

Snapping her head around, she frowned slightly seeing Koko-chan so close to her brother and nodded. "Of course-ttebane," She frowned angrily. "Why would that matter?"

Closing his eyes, his smile turned flat. "Ah…just making sure…" And with that, he slowly walked over to the man that had thrown the rock. Instead of backing away, the fool simply walked forward arrogantly thinking that he should teach the 'demon brat' his place.

With a flat smile playing on his lips, he swerved calmly to the side dodging the man's reckless punch and grabbed a hold of his wrist with his right hand, twisted his body tripping him forward in the process as he slammed his left palm down on his neck pulling the man's arms with him before slamming the fool into the ground with him on his back. Twisting the man's arm behind his back, no one noticed his eyes darkening to a pitch black shade. "Just in need of a testimony," and without hesitation, a sharp snap was heard quickly followed by the fools screams.

Twisting the dislocated arm coldly, he bent forward and spoke into the man's ear. **"I claim them as mine, you bugs mess with them you mess with me."** He whispered in a ghostly cold whisper. **"If they are ever harmed by any of you people…"** Trailing off with the silent warning, he twisted the man's arm once again as if emphasizing his point.

Getting on his feet, Naruto watched as the bug below him writhed in the ground in tears. Clutching his broken arm like the infected insect he was and crying for help. Humming coldly, he snapped his head toward the silenced and fear filled crowd and clicked his tongue. **"Even now, you bugs still think that you can get away with whatever you want!"** Grabbing the man roughly by the collar of his shirt, he effortlessly picked him up and tossed him into the crowd. **"The fool there proclaimed me to be a demon, and attacked. But think on this for a moment…"** Eye's flashing a blood red shade, he cracked his fingers. **"If I really was a demon, would it really be smart to anger me."** Seeing them shake in their boots, he waved them off. **"I don't have time to deal with you pathetic fools at the moment, now leave before we have another **_**accident**_** like those in the past!"** And with that, the crowd quickly dispersed screaming about demons and monsters like the bugs they are.

Humming in irritation, he looked down and eyed the small cube on the ground…and hid right behind Natsumi legs shivering. "That thing isn't going to turn into another evil bird and attack is it!?" He proclaimed nervously staring at his Usagi-chan. He did not have fun with the first one, no fun at all. He swears that mechanic contraption had it out for him!

Feeling a hand pull him up to his feet, he stared right into the mirror versions of his sister's steadfast gaze. "I didn't know you could fight!" She commented silently demanding an explanation.

Blinking, he stared at her lazily and shrugged. "You never asked!" She seemed to accept that, and let him go.

Nodding, he turned around to see Usagi-chan picking up the small cube before walking back to them. "Usagi-chan, sorry I haven't been able to meet up. I've been busy with some things!"

Giving him a small nod, she smiled. "…thank you!"

Blinking at the scene in front of her, she frowned. "Naruto, how do you know Koko-chan?" Frown deepening into a scowl, she glared. "And for that matter, why do you call her Usagi-chan?"

Blinking, he gave her a vulpine grin and twisted his form around Kokoro. His arms snaking around her shoulders pulling her into a hug much to the two's surprise. "Starting in that order, I met her a couple days ago and became fast friends." Burying his chin into the ridge of her neck, he grinned ferally as she flushed a deep red. "And doesn't she look like a cute bunny with how quiet and flustered she looks." As if to prove his point, he pressed his lips against her soft warm neck and began suckling. An action that sent shivers up Usagi -chan's spine and rage and embarrassment in Natsumi's.

Jerking back, he laughed as Natsumi's hand came several inches short from hitting his nose. "Ah…vanilla flavor," Licking his lips, he grinned foxily as his Usagi-chan lit up like an inferno while Natsumi boiled with rage, "And if I recall, you taste like miso ramen." And embarrassment as her hand snapped towards the mark on her own neck.

Humming in amusement, he chuckled good-naturally. They were so much fun to tease. "Ah~, I wonder what would happen if I were to mix the flavors!" Yep, now they were as red as a lobster. Ah~, this really is so much fun!

"**If this is what you call being gentlemanly about it, then I'm curious on what's feral for you kit."** Kurama boomed with laughter. **"You're really growing up to be a Super Pervert!"**

Eye's twitching, his smile dropped. _'You're really comparing me to that pathetic excuse of a man.'_ Yeah, that stopped his laughter. _'…Besides, all men are perverts in general. Some just hides it better than others, and I just do it to girls that interest me.'_ Snorting, he clicked his tongue in irritation. _'You won't see me try picking up any woman on the street like that man does.'_

"_Does that mean you'll take responsibility if you're playing around have girls fall in love with you!?"_ Ashe joined in the conversation with a speculative gleam in her eyes.

'_Of course,'_ He hummed in irritation. _'I may act like a flirt, but I'm a man…well teen with responsibilities! If such a thing were to happen, I would obviously dot on them and incinerate anyone and anything that harms them into oblivion!'_ Nodding in resolution, he stopped to think on what Ashe asked. _'Wait, you said girls as in several?'_ He didn't get his answer as he jerked his head to the side. A blood red chakra chain passing right by his head stabbed right into the ground behind him.

Turning to face Natsumi, he grinned nervously as her hair split into nine different tails with the phantasm of a bloodthirsty fox roaring behind her. Her eyes flashing a blood red shade as she tried to calm down her flustered cheeks. Turning to Usagi-chan, his smile twitched nervously as the cube in her hand began to break down into smaller cubes before shifting together and forming several small black robins. Their wings sparking with electricity as their eyes flashed a feral blue. Turning towards Usagi-chan, he hummed in amazement as she shook with both embarrassment and anger. _'Ah…Tsundere…'_ And with that, began the chase as Naruto ran throughout the entirety of the village followed by a twin calling for blood and several dozens of mechanical automatons being more than happy to oblige.

* * *

_**(With Ashe)**_

* * *

"…**So let me get this straight,"** Kurama muttered in a bored tone. **"The entire reason why you've been in a bitchy mood was because you thought the kit was simply playing around with the girls feelings?"**

Staying silent, she chuckled nervously and gave him a quick nod in response.

Eyeing her blankly, he sighed. **"You're an idiot!"** The fox declared gruffly. **"You should know that Naruto would only act like the lovable idiot we both know he is with the people he likes! If it was anyone else, then he would simply threaten them in a horribly calm manner he dislikes them or plain out act polite if he's neutral!"** Giving her a short huff, Kurama blinked. **"For example, he whispered into that bugs ears that the girls were his, so that means he's laid his claim on them. Oh don't start,"** He growled in annoyance when Ashe glared when he mentioned claimed. Women are so fickle! **"By doing that, he basically told the entire village populace that if they mess with what he claims as his, then they are fucked in simple terms."**

Thinking on the fox's explanation, she nodded in reluctant agreement, but she still had one concern. "With how Naruto is," She started slowly. "Exactly how many girls will the fishcake unknowingly have fallen in love with him?" Ah, that was the big question at heart.

Blinking, Kurama's tails twitched as he actually put in some thought to that. The kit has that annoying Hero Complex whether or not he'd admit it. If he finds something that goes against his morals, then he'll immediately put a stop to it while giving them a ridiculously long excuse on why he did it. **"Honestly…I don't really know."** Taking a look into the water, he watched in amusement as Naruto continued running from the girls.

"**Hey, vixen…"**

"What?"

"…**Aren't those things of the rabbit girl's a bit too…complex for this world?"** Kurama asked in mild curiosity.

Eye's twitching; she took a closer look at the birds and frowned. "…I think your right." She muttered. She only seen something like this in the world her twin brother is currently living in. Maybe she could give him a call?

* * *

_**I hope you enjoyed the chapter and please review on what you think.**_


	7. Chapter 6

_**I do not own Naruto, but any and all original characters and moves are mine**_

_**Chapter 6**_

* * *

…_I hate them. I hate them. I hate every single one of them. Those were his thoughts as he eyed his family walking out of the house from his room. His fingers pressing tightly against the window, he shook. Why…why is it that he's always alone?_

_It's his birthday as well…yet when it comes around every year. Why does he wish that it'd become the day of his end. Was it because he turned seven this year? Was it because he had to watch as his family left without him again? That they forgot him?_

_Looking out the window, he continued pressing his fingers against its surface. His eyes unknowingly flashing a blood red shade as the white of his eyes shifted to inky black. Looking at the full moon above, he frowned. He wants to go out. He wants to remind them that they still have a son. He wants to tell them so many things._

_But…it always ended with him being punished. They always thought he was lying when they actually pain attention to him. Eventually, he simply gave up. He simply decided right then and there…that they were never going to love him. They were never going to notice him. They were never going to praise him._

_To smile at him…to pat his head…to sing him to sleep…read to him…or even show that they cared. They probably didn't, but they could at least pretend. They could at least show him an illusion of what a mothers love should feel like. He should at least know the happiness of fathers praise…but he doesn't._

_ He simply doesn't. His parents will never notice him. They will never love him. They would never notice if he was to just up and disappear. At times though, that was exactly what he wanted to do…but couldn't. He was scared. He was scared of what laid outside of the village. He was scared that there might be more people out there who want to hurt him._

_ He was scared of so many things. But most of all…he was scared that maybe…just maybe, that if he waited long enough, if he persevered long enough…that his parents just might look his way. Taking a couple steps back, he shook his head thinking about the insanity of such a thought._

_ It was just a slim hope. A false hope, but it was hope none the less…and he hated it. He hated that they never noticed him. He hated the villagers for beating him. He hated his father for ignoring him. He hated his mother. He hated his sister. He hated the village. He hated every single one of them…yet why is it?_

_ Why is it…that he can never feel his hatred for them taking hold? It always bubbles up when he thinks about them, but it always vanishes not a moment later. Tears trailing down his whiskered cheeks, he shook his head before returning to stare at the moon._

_ 'I wonder how Cecilia-nee's doing?'_ _It's been a couple days since she last saw her. She said that she was going to go somewhere and be back soon, but it's been days since she left. Did she leave him to, he wondered silently._

_ Thinking on that, he stiffly walked over to his bed. Climbing on it, he curled himself tightly under the covers and laid down in silence. It was cold. Even with his blanket over him, he was still so cold. Closing his eyes, he hugged his pillow tightly for warmth. Seconds away from sleep, he no longer felt cold, and for the first time, smiled as he slept. Five words whispered into his ear being the last thing he heard for the night. "Happy Birthday, My Little Maelstrom!"_

_ Deep gray eyes blinking wearily, she smiled as the child snuggled closer to her for warmth after mistaking her for his pillow. Smiling warmly, she ran her fingers through his soft blond locks and hummed a calming melodic tune. Pulling something small out of her pocket, she softly placed it around his neck. The locket glinting in the moonlight, she smiled._

_ "I know life is unfair my little maelstrom," She whispered into his ears. "But hating everything is not the way to go, for no matter how far you reach, when you eventually stop at the end, you'll find yourself all alone." Pulling him closer to her chest, she rested his head on her bosom and kissed his forehead._

_ "As my knight, you are destined for something special, so just wait and see, and find people who'll never leave." Tracing her fingers against his whiskers, she giggled softly when he purred. "And as your Queen, you are mine to command, so let your heart be free, and walk your path filled with dignity."_

_ Closing her eyes, she felt him melt further into her arms as if the words reached him. "Sleep well my Maelstrom Knight, for not everything is against you, and you will find, that even in the darkest black, the brightest of lights will shine your path." And with that, she closed her eyes and let slumber take her._

* * *

_**(Flashback End)**_

* * *

"…So how do you pay for the entire apartment by yourself then?" Natsumi asked curiosity lacing her tone. "I mean, with all the bigots there are in the village, finding an actual job is…" Trailing off, she scowled when a stick of pocky was handed to her. "Really, bribing me with—"

"It's Ramen Flavor."

"Thank you very much –ttebane!" She squealed happily munching away on the pocky. Ignoring the strange look Koko-chan gave her, she simply grabbed the rest of the box from Naruto's hands only to see him pull out another from…somewhere. _'Yeah, I'm just not going to question it.'_ She thought flatly before happily munching on the stick. Oh~, it's Miso Flavor!

Staring at her…new friend, Kokoro could only give a quiet laugh in response. "Is she…going to be…okay?" She asked nervously.

Giving her a look, Naruto chuckled. "From what I know, as long as you don't take her ramen, you're safe." Stopping for a moment, he grinned mischievously. "I wonder what would happen if I deprived her of ramen long enough, and I put on, or more specifically you," He thought aloud patting Usagi-chan's shoulders. "A ramen suit with Natsumi nearby suffering from ramen deprivation…I wonder what would happen!?" Chuckling at the thought, he grinned.

Staring at how her friend attacked the ramen flavor pocky one after another…she shivered. "Please don't…" She'd rather not be lunch to a ramen frenzy red head. Looking around, she smiled lightly at the quite area around them. Nothing but grass and trees, and something she'd just found that she liked even better, no villagers threatening harm to them like yesterday.

It was rather hectic since that day, with people glaring at them back and forth, the hateful whispers. Everyone who suddenly seemed so nice looks and acts so mean and cruel now. Naruto always scares them off, and sometimes Natsumi whenever Naruto's to slow, but they are always coming back with more insults. It hasn't even been a day yet, and she could already tell that Naruto was getting annoyed with it.

"So…how do you…pay for it…Naruto?"

"Yeah," His sister joined in. "An apartments not that easy to pay for without a job!"

"Well it's easy when there are bugs who think it's smart to mug a fox." He commented idly. _'Not like they'll be needing money anymore anyway.'_ He thought in dark amusement. He never noticed the small look shared between the two girls on either side.

Biting off a piece from his own pocky stick, he blinked with a thought and frowned. "Ah…come to think of it," Turning to Natsumi with a raised brow. "How did your talk with the Namikaze's go? I don't suppose they were all that happy that you didn't come home yesterday."

Blinking at that, she shrugged casually. "They weren't, but when I told them that it was you, they seemed to calm down after a couple moments." Nibbling on her snack, she nodded. "They tried asking me where you lived, but I decided not to saying that it wasn't mine to share." Stopping for a moment, she scowled. "That and for some reason I get the feeling that'd you know I told and just move somewhere else!" The innocent look he was giving her simply made her huff before biting into another stick of pocky.

"Ano…what's your…relationship with each…other?" Kokoro asked curiously.

"Owner and pet," Naruto spoke immediately pointing to him and her respectively. Pulling back his finger, he dodged Natsumi's attempt to bite it off making her pout and resigned herself to just smacking him upside the head.

"He's my moronic twin brother." She sighed in exasperation. "He didn't want to become a shinobi, she he didn't enroll in the Academy."

"And just as I told Usagi-chan before," He exclaimed putting his arms over said girls shoulders making her squeak in surprise. "It would be a crime to hide these babies!" Flexing his non-existent muscles, he grinned as a giggle escaped his bunny's lips. "See what I mean, Usagi-chan agrees wholeheartedly to!"

"Yeah, yeah," She muttered. "And Usagi-chan wants you to let go." And with that, he pulled her brother away from the flustered bunny. "Besides," Sticking her tongue out at him, she grinned and pushed Kokoro into her bosom. "She's my Koko-chan!"

Brow rising in challenge, Naruto chuckled in amusement. "Fine, but," Jumping form his spot, he grabbed a hold of the two girls making them squeal in surprise. "Your my Aka-chan, so what's your is mine, and by that point, Usagi-chan is also mine!" He cackled deviously, his fingers putting down any attempts at protests by tickling their sides mercilessly.

After a couple minutes, Natsumi and Kokoro were gasping for air as Naruto continue to roll around them snickering like a kitsune. Stopping his current rolling, Naruto stared at them with a lazy grin on his face. "Ah~, are Usagi-chan and Aka-chan tired!" Rolling quickly to his side, he raised a brow in amusement at the chakra chain embedded in the ground. "Ah…does Aka-chan want to tie up little old me~?" He whined childishly before grinning. "Kinky, I like it!" And with that, he continued to roll around on the field of grass dodging Natsumi's attempts of creating Fishcake al la Flambé.

Kokoro simply enjoyed the seen in front of her. She can never recall when she ever had this much fun before…albeit embarrassing, but fun none the less. Naruto was Natsumi's brother. If that was true, she wondered why he didn't tell her his family name. Are they having a fight? Why is Naruto living in an apartment instead of his family? And why were the people in the village calling them demons? So many questions, but so little answers…

Now that she thought about it, Naruto did kind of look like the Yondaime with that spiky blond hair and blue eyes. She supposed that the red tips came from his mother Kushina, but. "Naruto…" She called out softly.

Stopping his rolling, said blonde looked up at Usagi-chan curiously and frowned. "Is something wrong Usagi-chan?" Tilting his head to the side, he watched as she crawled over to him and smiled. While he liked the view, he stopped when she poked one of his spikes.

"If you go red from Kushina; and blonde from your father…" She trailed off not noticing his darkening eyes unlike Natsumi who swallowed nervously. "…where did you get the white?" And he blinked.

Getting to his knees abruptly, he pulled down at one of his bangs and stared at the snow white slits at the center. "Ah…no clue…" He really didn't. "They just showed up out of nowhere…" Furrowing his brows in confusion, he hummed in thought. "Now that I think about it, the white used to be black…but if that's the case, where did the black come from and why did the white replace it?" Closing his eyes, he felt something connect.

'_Ah, Ashe, do you know why?'_ He asked his female resident.

Blinking, Ashe responded by patting her fist into her open palm. _"I knew I forgot something!"_ She exclaimed happily.

'_Forget about what?'_

Nodding, she was ready to explain. _"You already know what Kurama looks like right?"_

Raising a metaphorical brow, he inwardly nodded. _'…yeah, he's a giant nine-tailed fox of destruction and chaos that loves to chase his own tails when given the chance.'_ Kurama who was letting his ego boost at the description, felt it pop at the chasing tails part, growled.

"_Exactly,"_ She chirped ignoring said fox's glare. _"And since you already know what fuzz but looks like, you never really had to come in here, but then again, you don't really know what __**I**__ look like!"_

'_So the white part comes from you?'_ He asked incredulity. _'How does that work? You're sealed in me, not being me!'_

Shrugging her shoulders casually, she huffed. _"No clue, your Shinobi sealing is completely different from the runes I know, so maybe it just gives you pieces of our traits along with the sealing bit."_ She ignored the knowing look Kurama sent her way. _"Originally you were just a blonde gaki, but during the years you somehow got the red tips, and whiskers from Kurama while you got the white from me!"_

"**Ah, just to correct you on something, while it may have had something to do with me still being sealed inside your mother during her pregnancy,"** He interjected gruffly. **"The Kit had the whiskers when he was born and not as a result of moa getting sealed inside the brat."** Scratching his chin with his claw, he huffed. **"If it was because of me, I would have just given him my glorious nine tails in the process. They would only appear at my say so though, because while amusing to watch the bugs squirm, I'd rather not have my host get killed because of pathetic prejudiced idiots. If my host was to die, he will go down in battle like the warrior he's going to be, not by some pathetic insect who takes pride in killing an infant!"** He roared angrily making Naruto wince at the sound. **"Such is the right given to my host!"**

'_Yeah…no, while I'm not trying to sound arrogant, I will not fall in battle thank you very much.'_ After thinking about his answer for a couple moments, Kurama grunted in silent agreement.

He would have continued, but something annoyingly familiar caught his attention. "You know…I already have whiskers on my face." Watching as Natsumi and surprisingly Kokoro hide markers behind their back while looking completely innocent, he hummed in amusement. "Why must you try to add anything else?"

Feeling unnerved by her brother's unblinking stare, Natsumi grinned sheepishly. "But~, you wouldn't wake up no matter what we tried!" She chuckled nervously. "You just closed your eyes, and that was it!"

Eyeing her steadily, he turned to face Usagi-chan much to her dismay and Natsumi's relief. Eyes flickering between her and his sisters, he hummed a light happy tune making them both sigh in relief.

Pouting that he didn't demand an explanation from Koko-chan, she pouted and gave him a light glare. Looking around, she found the area around them very peaceful…but for some reason she was sad. Naruto and Koko-chan weren't going to become shinobi. Naruto because he didn't want to, and Koko-chan because she failed the exams…

Since she herself passed, she would have less time to spend with them because they were technically civilians. Naruto doesn't hang around at home, and she doesn't even know where Koko-chan lives. Biting the insides of her cheek, she watched as Koko-chan began showing Naruto that odd cube from yesterday. They seemed rather happy and peaceful about it, but that was probably something she wouldn't see very often due to missions.

"…Naruto," She started slowly. "Why didn't you want to become a Shinobi?"

Blinking, he turned to face her and was about to add in a smart retort when she saw the serious look in her eyes. Raising a small brow at that, he hummed in amused annoyance. "Ah…who knows~," He replied in a flat tone. "I don't really know myself actually." He mumbled staring into space. "…but…" Eye's glazing over; he slowly thought about his words and hummed in thought. "In a way…becoming a Shinobi clashes with my beliefs. That's all I can think of for the time being."

"Nope," Natsumi denied flatly. "I know there's more and you know there's more, so spill it before I string you up naked like a chicken over a large steaming bowl of ramen!" The way her eyes glazed over at the thought with a hint of drool…yeah, she didn't look like she wasn't kidding. Why was Usagi-chan blushing?

Humming softly, he grinned teasingly. "Ah~, if you wanted to get me out of my clothes that much, all you needed to do was ask," Chuckling softly at the flustered looks on their faces, his grinned widened. "But, prepare for a long ride! Cause I ain't letting you two go all~ night long!" And as if emphasizing his point, he zipped forward giving them both a peck on their small noses. "They'll much more where that came from if you agree!" He whispered huskily into their ears. Next second, he was flat on his back as two sharp slaps echoed in the clearing. _'Wow…that stung.'_ Ignoring Kurama's laughter and Ashe's giggles, he hummed in amusement. "I guess I'll take that as a no."

"Mochiron orokana no hentai **(Of course you stupid pervert!)**" Natsumi shouted at him as she held a flustering red Usagi-chan right in her arms while eyeing her brother suspiciously.

Chuckling, he sat up and grinned. "Well on that side note, if you really think that there's more to it to my decision, then you should act like the Shinobi you think you are and find out!" Blinking for a moment, a thought popped into his head, and his grin widened. "And I'll even give you a hint! We haven't really introduced ourselves to each other yet, so let's start with that!" Ignoring the looks of confusion on their faces, he started

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto and like Cecilia-nee," Noting Natsumi's small flinch, he sighed inwardly.

_'Who's this Cecilia and why does he call her sister!?'_ Natsumi raged inwardly.

"I also like it when I feel warmth…" He stated with a small smile before frowning. "I dislike a lot of things varying from being alone, prejudiced idiots, people who abandon others, rapists and several other hundred million options that I could choose from." Chuckling softly at that, he grinned. "My goal is to one day build a family and make sure that they're protected. Doesn't matter who or what because whoever attacks those I care about would meet a fiery end where they will forever be damned into the nothingness that is oblivion after a severely painful session of pain only located with the realms of impossibility. As for dreams…I supposed that I never really thought much about that!" Looking forward he nodded. "So tell me…can you find the hint?" He asked in a flat tone.

The two only blinked in response. "There is something wrong with my introduction there." He told them cheerfully. "Find it, and you two can make any request of me as long as it's within reason! If you don't…" He trailed off slowly making them lean in. "…then the same could be said for me!" He whispered eerily into their ears making them shiver. Though from fear or not was something unknown.

Ignoring the look of foreboding from her twin, Natsumi turned to face Kokoro and stared for a couple moments. To Naruto, it was as if he was watching his Usagi-chan and Aka-chan exchange silent messages that he could translate but won't to increase the excitement of the game.

"We can request anything…right?" Natsumi asked.

Chuckling, he shook his fingers back and forth. "Within reason, so if you were to request for me to, I don't know," Putting up a mock thoughtful look on his face. "Suddenly grow angle wings and take you for a flight in the sky. Then that'd be a definite no. On the other hand, something that I can physically and possibly do without ending up crippled and or dead in the process is within reason as well."

_'Ah…such a morbid thing to say with a smile Naruto,'_ Natsumi thought brows twitching before nodding.

"Is there…a…time limit…?" Kokoro asked curiously. The game seems interesting! While she got to know more about Naruto-san, she was curious as to what she could make him do as payback for all those times he's embarrassed her.

Unknown to Kokoro, Naruto felt as if something had walked on his grave before turning right towards its origin. His skin paling a couple shades as the space around his Usagi-chan darkened with a malevolent purple black aura as her visage darkened on one half of her face. A red gleam shined on said darkened face making him wonder where his cute little bunny went to and who the hell was this creepy, yet oddly alluring girl in front of him.

…Strange. "You've got until today till the end of tomorrow. I'll be here until twelve, and if you not here whether or not you have the answer, you lose automatically." Giving them both a calculative look, he hummed a soft tune. He didn't need an answer because they both readily nodded much to his hidden entertainment.

Snorting softly, he slowly hummed a soft tune in silence. Kokoro and Natsumi were already up to thinking about the hint he put in the introduction…wait? Did he really put a hint in it? Furrowing his brows in confusion, he looked back to what he said and frowned inwardly. Well…there's a small hit, very small…maybe!

Eyes shifting towards the two girls, he sighed internally in relief as they haven't noticed. The fact that there still trying means that they know that there's a hint there somewhere. _'Ah…I wonder how they're going to react when I tell them I might've forgotten to put the hint!'_ Thinking on that for a moment, he shrugged. He'll deal with it tomorrow, and if they come up with a satisfactory answer, then they win.

Lying down on his back, a small grin made its way to his lips. Ear's twitching, his eyes narrowed as a flash of silver disappeared in a swirl of leaved. Eye's flashing a pitch black color, he hummed a silent tune. '_Ah…guess an example has to be made…don't you agree.'_ It wasn't a statement, but a short pulse was his answer none the less. Lips thinning, his fingers twitched momentarily. The small distortion of air was never noticed.

* * *

_**(Afternoon)**_

* * *

Dark brown eyes shifting around the night, he pulled down his hood to cover the majority of his face. It was dark, it was so very dark in the streets of Konohagakure no Sato. The usual streets shifted with eerie shadows. The light posts flickered ominously around each corner. Honestly, if he wasn't so sure that Konohagakure was the strongest village in the world, then it would certainly count as the creepiest.

Hearing a twig snapping, he jerked his head towards the origin only to see a flickering lamp. After seeing nothing for a couple seconds, he looked around and sighed in relief. Wiping the nervous sweat from his brow, he continued onto his destination. His earlier thoughts coming to play as a snarl formed on his lips.

Konoha was indeed the strongest, but it had taken several hits throughout the past two decades. The beginning and end of the Third Shinobi World War, the Kyuubi Attack, the Kumogakure Incident, Uchiha Massacre, all of it. The once proud nation Konoha used to be is now but a shadow of their former selves.

Shifting through the night, he pulled over his hood as his fingers twitched. The glint of steel playing around his wrists just in case something strikes. You never know what might happen in the middle of the night. Especially in a village run by Assassins…stopping to think for a moment, he chuckled at the irony.

He himself used to be one of those Assassins. A Shinobi fighting proudly for his village, for his family…but in the end it just wasn't enough. He had an impressive track record. Sure he failed a mission here and there, but nothing of major importance, just a couple D-ranks here and there and the occasional C-rank mission.

He was a Chunin just getting ready to take his Jounin Exams. He got all the recommendations and paperwork filed out. He took the necessary missions, and he was okay. He always wanted to get a Gennin team of his own after going through the torture sessions his own sensei put him through. Funny how the man's in the Interrogation unit, but that's beside the point.

The point is that he was going to take the exams and hopefully pass. He would gain a few years of experience and get a Gennin team, then hopefully have lived a full life with his family before dying of old age. But then the Kyuubi struck out of nowhere, and disaster struck.

Everything he worked for…gone. His home was destroyed. The bank that held his savings account…incinerated by a giant pitch black ball of death. His right arm, crippled, and his Shinobi career, destroyed along with a fourth of the village. If it was just that, he would be okay. He had enough experience working other type of jobs when he was younger, so he should have pulled through. But that was also flushed down the toilet when he found that his wife had been crushed by a random stray of debris blown away from the Kyuubi's initial roar.

Tear's glistening; he wiped them away as flashes of his wife's chocolate brown eyes. He remembered how the life slowly left them as the debris collapsed around her before he could get to her in time. The last thing he saw of his wife was a small smile. He never found the body.

Stopping for a moment, he choked back a sob before shaking his head. Most people would think that everything went up from there, but for him, it all went straight to hell. The Yondaime appeared and did some strange Sealing Jutsu that teleported the blast elsewhere. He immediately battled the Kyuubi by slamming a three ton toad on it and they disappeared right after that.

Everyone thought that he had saved the village, but to him, who had lost everything from his career to his family, the man had arrived to fucking late. By the time everything was over, he had made the decision to give up the last remnant of his beautiful wife. He had to give up his own baby girl to the orphanage just to give some of the things she needed to live. He even hoped that she would be adopted into a good family that could actually take care of her. And when she actually was adopted years after, he felt something in his finally shatter.

His baby girl was in the arms of man that was not him, his dear child being hugged by a woman that was not his dear Delilah. It was almost too much to bear. So he put all the rage he was feeling, all the sadness and unjust anger right at the Yondaime.

The so called **Hero**, everyone called him, but where was he when his wife needed saving? Where was he when the Kyuubi first appeared? He's called the **Yellow Fucking Flash **for a reason god dammit! How he wanted to make the man suffer like he had. He wanted to at first attack the boy the man called a son, to make him feel the pain of having to lose a child, but he was still a Shinobi, and was able to read the lines.

The man cared not for his son. In fact, if the boy didn't even have the man's face, he would have guessed the he used some orphan instead of his own child. The small red headed girl is the one he cared for. The boy was just a sacrifice like his title entailed. **Jinchuuriki**, Power of the Human Sacrifice! Sacrifice his ass, he snorted. He may have lost his career as a Shinobi, but even he had minor sensory abilities and the boy had absolutely none of the Kyuubi's inhumane chakra within that small body of his.

But the boy still held its soul, and for that, he would hold no pity for him. He wouldn't hurt the boy, but he wouldn't help the brat either. No, no, his game was much higher. Eyes darkening, he stopped at a flight of stair that leads down an alleyway. Looking both ways, he sent a small pulse of chakra and found nothing worthy of note. Stopping for a few moments, he simply walked down the flight of stairs with a plan formulating in his mind. The last few days being enlightening at best.

He knew to be able to get revenge against the Yellow Flash; he had to be stronger which was impossible due to how he was. So he formulated plans instead. Hundreds and hundreds of plans the conjoined with one another including several fail safes and precautions that will ensure its completion. If he wasn't so sure that he had lost it a while back, he would have compared his work to that of a Nara.

…Those smart lazy bastards. Grunting, he stopped again for a couple moments and pulled out a small vial from his sleeves. It was clear stained glass with a deep blood like liquid inside. The man a while ago had told him many…enlightening things. How he too held the same hatred against the accursed Yellow Flash and his family. The man who allowed hundreds to die and their families as well, yet the man himself is enjoying time with his own! It was like the fool was mocking him! Mocking them all!

Clutching the vial in his hands, he wondered idly how this thing was going to give him power. Albeit not enough to take on the Yondaime, but the man had told him that he had given the same to others. Dozens of others who bore hatred for the man! In exchange for giving him the vial, he had to gather the group and have them beat up the son of their hated man. Give him a letter, and proceed to the following location for new orders.

A feeling in his gut told him that something was off about the man, a feeling that he had trusted and had saved his life countless times in his career as a Shinobi, but he ignored it in favor of thinking about the revenge that was so close. Oh so close that he could almost taste it!

Stopping at the end of the stairs, he eyed the wooden door with some trepidation and nodded. Putting the vial back in his sleeve, he knocked on the door once, twice, and trice times before slamming the palm of his hand on it and dragging it down. After a couple moments nothing happened, but when he heard a click, he knew he was in the right place. Pushing the door open, he never knew that he had just sealed his fate!

It happened in an instant. His eyes dilating as something dragged him through the door with it slamming eerily shut behind him. Whatever pulled at him had let go, but he still stumbled forward into the ground in a splash. _'Wait…splash?' _Eyes blinking, he looked down to see him lying on top of a puddle of blood Jerking back upright, he shook his head in shock and looked all around the room as if he was in some sort of Genjutsu.

…He wasn't. The room he was in was made up of solid grey stone with the room being bare of anything but the flickering light bulb in the ceiling. But in his eyes, there was nothing grey about this room. Taking a shaking step back, he stumbled on the ground when his foot landed on something squishy. Looking forward, he jerked back slamming his back against the wall staring wide eyed at the dismembered arm in front of him.

The room was filled with it. The walls were painted red with blood. The stone floor littered with cracks in which the blood seeped through like a waterfall of red. Dozens and dozens of corpses for all to see piled up crudely against one another. Their limbs cruelly torn off or shredded, he had to force himself to swallow the bile that continued to rise up his throat. Even the stench was…nothing?

Skin paling to a ghost white shade, he began to shake. The room smelled like nothing. There was no scent of heavily induced iron. No smell of rotting corpses. Not even the scent of the freezing cold air. Stiffening, he reached out into his sleeves and pulled out the vial from before. But before he could even open it, he stiffened in shock as the faint sound of growling reached his ears.

Eyes shakily drifting towards its origin, he watched as a strange dog like monster tore into the flesh of a corpse with its dagger like teeth. They were odd obsidian armor plated dogs that looked twice as three times as big as your normal full grown Inuzuka Hound. He saw the pulsing muscles and tendons in between the openings of the dog's armor. Its three chain like tails flickering with ethereal blue flames at its dagger shaped tips.

Before he could even twitch, the dog stopped its current meal and snapped its head to him. And when he met its blazing red eyes, he knew it was the end as it snarled its fire coated teeth. In a flash, all he could see was its same teeth digging right through his neck before everything went black.

With the sounds of slurping of blood and ripping of flesh filling the room, a black cloaked figure appeared in a swirl of darkness. The figures identity easily hidden by the hood, it walked forward and stopped right next to the feasting dog. His gloved hand stroking its armored spine softly as he casually picked up the vial from the corpse's hand.

Staring at it, he eyed the red liquid inside for a moment and shook his head. "Is this what these 'Shinobi' rely on?" The figure said monotonously. Eyeing the corpses that littered the room, he snorted. "I'd expected more from a group of people using **that** power." Eyeing them passively, he shrugged. "Well, it's a bastardized version of it none the less, but I can admit that it's more versatile in options." He mused quietly.

Hearing a small whine, he turned over to see the Hellhound shrink in size to that of a normal golden retriever. Its red eyes glinting innocently despite the blood that covered its maw, the figure chuckled before noting the small blood-covered parchment in its jaws.

Humming in thought, he softly removed the paper from its jaws and waved the Hellhound off the finish its meal to which it happily attested to. Nodding, he opened the parchment and read its contents. A ghost of a smile making its way to his lips and he gave off an eerie chuckle. "Ara, ara…to think humans are still so stupid and shortsighted after what you showed them!" Red eyes glinting, he shrugged casually. With a twitch of his fingers, the blood that decorated the room spiraled towards the center of his fingers into that of a small swirling sphere. Staring at it, he watched it crystallize before popping it into his waiting mouth.

Licking his lips, he scowled in slight disgust. "Too much alcohol in it," He muttered distastefully. Really, drinking away there sorrows never really solved anything. Staring at the letter in his hands, he flicked his wrists and added his own flavor to it before flicking it away. The parchment then vanished into a small portal of darkness that opened before it and closed right after.

Feeling something licking his hand, he grinned softly and patted the Hellhounds head. "What a cute puppy you are!" He cooed childishly. _'Let's see how you fair mister candidate!'_ Will he show more potential than The Grey One, or will he be something else entirely? Only time will tell…_'To bad I'm not that patient anymore!'_

* * *

_**(With Naruto)**_

* * *

In a room parallel to the last, Naruto stared at the letter with a tilt of his head. From what he remembers, there's no one in Konohagakure who has the Meiton Bloodline. The only one who he does know is Ashe, but her control over darkness is a bit different.

Humming in thought, he flipped over the letter back and forth and sighed. Looking around the room, he scowled. The only thing he got was a name from these insects, nothing more, nothing less. As a result, the room was covered in strange black dust despite its walls being stone grey. Fingers twitching, he turned over to the sound of whimpering and scowled at the bony tall man before him sniveling on the ground like a child.

Seeing how the man was muttering and shaking with a haunted look in his eyes…yeah, he wasn't going to go anywhere anytime soon. Taking a look at the letter in his hand, he opened it only for his expression to turn flat.

**'Bring me the scroll of sealing by mid-night. If not, then who knows what would happen to your whores Kyuubi!'** Eyeing the note, he found that there was no assigned location. Turning it over, his eyes narrowed in suspicion as small red lines began to appear in a pattern on its pages. After a couple seconds, he nodded blankly as a small note appeared under the lines. _'Show me the power of a King!'_

Eyeing the handwriting, he twitched before walking out of the room in silence. The man from before kept muttering about demons and monsters and how seventy five black warriors had been replaced by a blanket of the abyss. When he was found in the morning, he was sent to the psychiatry ward for a permanent stay.

* * *

_**Ah...i'm not really sure if this story is going well or not, but over two thousand views in a week is good...right?**_

_**...Anyway, at least I think it's good considering it's my first Fan Fiction. So I decided to add a little sneak peak of what you can expect in the later chapters. For those who are still interested in reading the story, please review.**_

* * *

_**(Sneakpeak)**_

* * *

_Claws gripping tightly into its prey's skull, Torazuki lifted the boy up into the air. Tilting its head to the side curiously, its eyes narrowed as the child's unfocused eyes glared at him through the openings between its fingers._

_ …Such empty eyes the child had. Such a soulless being that walked this earth…oh what could be the cause of such a thing, it wondered with a curl of its lips. Such hatred…no, not hatred…it was something far more dangerous than such a petty emotion._

_ …Longing…desperation…a distortion had somehow formed in the child's psyche. How it came to be, it did not know, but armed with things such as longing and desperation…the ending would only result in tragedy. Tightening its grip on this child, its mild twitched in annoyance._

_ Holding back a snarl, it tightened its grip on the child's skull. His annoyance of a host was dead. Such a despicable parasite the fool was. Arrogant…prideful…filled with loathing…it was no doubt a miracle that such an insect managed to bring a being such as him into existence. Feeling its grip on the boy's skull slacken, it narrowed its eyes in surprise as the child's form dispersed in a flurry of winds. The threads of air whipped against its armored hand, yet doing no harm to its body._

_ …The child was weak…he was still too weak. But that will not stay the same for long. The child will grow, he will fight, he will see, but he will not truly live. He has no purpose. He has no goal. The boy is just an empty fragile shell waiting to be filled. A shell filled with oh so many cracks, and oh so many holes. That once the goal had been completed, the child will return to his empty state of mind._

_ He had once met a man with similar eyes…only his was filled with purpose, yet only chose the path with the most destruction. To save is to kill. And to kill is to save…that was the man's motto. Ear's twitching, it turned around its behemoth of a body and stared at the child that appeared in a gust of wind on the other end. __**'…That man…he to, could guide the earth's whispers…'**__ Meeting the child's eye's once more, it watched as the white of his left eye be invaded by an inky black. His empty blue eye flashing a raging inferno of red, it frowned when a dark, almost demonic presence overwhelmed the boy's own._

_ From his host's memories, the child has a remnant of The Grey One sealed in him, the strongest of the nine, but only without its power. There was another remnant in the child, a pure one, but something completely different from the fox. They were strong, but in the end, they were not the one. Eyeing the child in curious thought, it pondered as the presence had all but vanished. It belonged solely to the boy alone…yet it felt as if it didn't._

_ A single side to a coin, the man had said, is always parallel to its other. But at the same time, the differences are so abstract that they are truly never the same. The Grey One was a puzzle to it, an endless puzzle that had no end. A dangerous puzzle, but a simple puzzle none the less. And like all puzzles…they are meant to be solved._

_ Claw's flexing, it vanished from sight. Its form reappearing right behind the child slashing down into his back, only to narrow its eyes as the boy dispersed in another flurry of wind. Naruto…that was the child's name…a child with only a name, and nothing else to it. Ear's twitching, it disappeared once again only to slash down at the spot several meters away. The boy, Naruto, reappeared right at that spot only to vanish when its claws pierced through, the earth beneath scattering in contact as its thoughts steadily continued on the puzzle that was the child._

_ Turning its head with a short tilt, it eyed the copies parallel to the child swerve around the clearing around them. His eye's cold and hard, but ever so empty inside. The hatred it experienced when its host taunted the child. It to, was without form. Without purpose, hatred given only to its feel, but not really directed at anything. Such a broken child…such a purposeless being…it only eyed the child, not with pity, but with remembrance. For in the end, the child will die._

_ Taking in a deep steady breath, it closed and slowly opened its eyes in only a moment. Parting open its lips, an earth-shattering roar erupted. The clearing itself being flattened by its initial power while the tree's beyond were felled by its force. The child shooting back in the air had the sense to clamp his ear's shut in attempt to block out the sound. It was a careful move, but unnecessary as it halted its roar and disappeared. Its form reappeared right above the child stabbing its clawed hand down towards his heart._

_ It would be quick. It would be painless. But it would not stop the guilt. The guilt of ending a child's life before it could truly begin. The guilt of halting's the child potential for growth when he could be great. But most of all, to end the life of a child, who had never truly started his life, was one that would weigh most heavily on its mind._

_ Just as its claw was about to pierce flesh, a blood red chain of energy snapped the child away. Frowning slightly, it twisted its waist snapping out at the boy's body with its right leg. A snap sounding through the night, it felt its claws dig into flesh splattering blood before the child escaped its reach. Landing softly on its paws, it turned around eyeing the scene in front. Its eyes widening only a fraction as it eyed the blood soaked broken left arm that belonged to the boy. _

_ The boy…he managed to twist his form around leaving his arm with most of the damage. Even when disoriented from its earlier roar, he still managed to counter. Tracing its side, it stared at the red liquid that dripped off its claws. Blood…the boy was dangerous. Looking back towards the child, its attention slowly drifted towards his two companions…interesting…both a doll…a broken being…and an anomaly all in one place, together. _

_What the fates have in store for such of group, it has no idea. But what it does know; is that they are too weak. They are much too weak for what is in store for them. So in the end, it only had one thing to say. __**"Show me your will."**_


	8. Chapter 7

_**I do not own Naruto, but any and all Original Characters and Creatures are mine**_

_**Chapter 7**_

* * *

Walking around wearily, deep violet eyes blinked worriedly as her eyes flickered towards the door every now and then. "She late," She muttered. "…again!" Growling in irritation, Kushina unknowingly cracked her fingers. "She's late!" She repeated.

"Kushi-chan, I'm sure she has a good reason." Minato said nervously trying to placate his wife. A fool's decision, he knows. "Maybe she's at Naruto's again?" That was a thought. Maybe that'll work.

"And where exactly is my Sochi's home Namikaze!?" She snapped back. Well, maybe not. "He shouldn't have even been living anywhere but here to begin with! Not only isn't my son home, but my daughter isn't here either!" Eye's flashing red, she glared at the man in front of and reminded herself that the man was still her husband and father to her children. "Who knows what could happen to my babies in the middle of the night!" The thought worried him to, but he had faith.

Frowning thoughtfully, Minato shook his head. "Don't forget Kushi-chan, we both taught Natsu-chan how to defend herself. I taught her on how to react during battle as well as keeping a calm mind while you taught her how to use your Chakra Chains." Stopping for a moment, he momentarily glared at his wife. "I still don't think that using sensei as a test dummy for that was a good idea." He commented with a frown.

Snorting, she dismissed his comment. "The pervert had it coming." She muttered before turning to face Minato. "But what about Naruto; he's doesn't even know how to use chakra to begin with!" Worry flashing through her eyes, she frowned when her husband put her arms around her and pulled her close. "Don't think that you're getting out of this one bub." She pointed out sourly making him chuckle.

"I know," He replied with a smile. "But I think you're wrong about Naruto not being able to use chakra."

Blinking, she simply stared at the man. Poking his cheek rather hard, she glared. "Explain!"

Nodding, he uncurled his arms from around her and furrowed his brows in thought. "I'm not sure two explain it exactly, but a couple days ago after Natsu-chan's graduation party. I found Naruto at the same place where I first proposed to you."

"…The clearing with the pretty lake?" She asked.

Nodding, he continued. "Yep, but when I got there, Naruto and I got in a little fight that soon turned…unusual…" He trailed off unsure on how to explain.

Frowning, she took a couple steps back and glared. "Unusual how, and…wait?" Eyes narrowing dangerously, she jabbed her finger into Minato's chest. "You got in a **fight with him!"**

Oops, he probably shouldn't have said that. "Yes Kushi-chan, it was a little spar with me holding back incredibly while using no jutsu's or weapons what so ever." That seemed to placate his wife…for the moment. "Anyway, during the spar, Naruto started to use some strange form of wind manipulation."

Eyes widening in slight surprise, she frowned. "I thought we didn't teach him how to mold chakra," She whispered in a remorseful tone.

"We didn't," Minato agreed hesitantly. "But Naruto somehow managed to learn it alone, and whats more, he even learned how to use wind manipulation. While that in itself would make him some sort of genius, that's not what I was curious about." He said thoughtfully.

"What were you curious about then?" She asked irritably. Really, their son taught himself how to mold, use, and change chakra into a respective element ready for battle by the age of fourteen, and he's worried about something else!

Noting the small look in her eyes, he inwardly sighed. "I'm wondering about the way he was able to easily bend the wind to his will." He said making her blink in surprise. "…Well not bend, more like flow into whatever shapes he wants before he continued to send javelin after javelin made completely out of wind to unfortunately impale me." Naruto didn't hate him that much…right? The look Kushi-chan was giving him didn't help. He was about to continue when a familiar guest walked into his home.

"Hiruzen-san…?" Noting the serious expression in his eyes, Minato frowned. "What's wrong?" He asked giving Kushi-chan an apologetic stare.

Turning his hard gaze towards his successor, Hiruzen only frowned before his eyes drifted towards Kushina. Eye's softening; he took a puff from his pipe and sighed. "..Minato-kun…where is your daughter Natsumi-chan?" He asked after a moment of silence.

Staring at him, he shook his head. "My daughter isn't home yet." Eyes sharpening, he eyed Hiruzen curiously. "Why?"

Gazing around the living room, the Sandaime Hokage simply stared. "…Do you know where Naruto is?" He asked turning his gaze towards Minato.

Alarm bells ringing in his head, his frown deepened. "No. I have not." Noting the slight stiffness of muscles of Hiruzen's facial muscles, he shook his head. "What's going on?"

Staring at him with hardened eyes, he pulled out a small note and handed it towards the male Namikaze. Confused, he stared at it, and his lips thinned to a small line. "Is this a joke Hiruzen-san?" he asked in a calm tone. "Because if it is…I'm not laughing…"

"Mina-kun, what's on that paper?" Kushina asked, her attention shifting back and forth between the two Kage's. "What's wrong?"

"Namikaze Minato…Uzumaki Kushina," Hiruzen frowned softly. "Your son Namikaze Naruto is reported to have stolen the Forbidden Scroll of Seals and is his current whereabouts is unknown." Eye's hardening, he frowned. "You are to assist as the Yondaime Hokage to search and retrieve the Scroll of Sealing and detain Namikaze Naruto." Silence ensued in the room, and in a second, the pin dropped.

**"WHAT!"** Kushina shouted angrily. She was about to continue on her tirade, but a sharp look from her husband stopped her. She wasn't the only one furious at the old man's accusation, but Mina-kun knew that getting angry would only make matters worse. Grudgingly biting down the rage, she opted for glaring at the man with her eyes flashing a crimson red every now and then.

Eying the note passively, he turned to the retired Hokage with a frown. "And you believe an anonymous note without evidence?" He asked icily.

"While skeptical myself, I checked the vault and found it to be missing." Hiruzen said simply.

"And you believe my son, a civilian at that…was able to get past several patrols filled with Jounin and Chunin and bypassing the seals around the safe itself that I myself designed with my sensei without alerting anyone all in the span of a couple hours." Yeah, when he puts it like that, the accusation sounds incredibly stupid. "…explain to me why I shouldn't bar you from this place in the next three seconds old man." Yeah, he was incredibly pissed.

"Because currently there are several Shinobi who got the same messages and are currently scouring all around the village in search for your son." Eyes hardening, Hiruzen growled. "The only one who didn't seem to receive one was a Chunin called Mizuki from what I believe." Eyes drifting towards his successor, he nodded. "And what's more, I received a report from another Chunin that Mizuki was last seen talking to one Namikaze Natsumi and failed graduate Tetsumi Kokoro."

Staring at the old man, his eyes sharpened. "Kushina," He called getting her attention. "Please get ready, we're going to find and locate our children."

Staring at her husband, she nodded and disappeared in a swirl of leaves. Minato quickly followed behind with his icy cold eyes glinting in the light. Hiruzen simply watched and stared at their recently vacated spaces. "…What will you do now Minato-kun…Kushina-chan?"

* * *

_**(Flashback)**_

* * *

_'…I'm tired…' He thought wearily. He's so very…tired. Shifting his form a bit, he smiled as he felt something jingle around his neck._

_ Looking down, he fingered the small pendant softly. It…it was the first time anyone got him anything. It was so pretty. So smooth to the touch, and yet at the same time, seemed completely firm and unbreakable. Nodding slightly, he looked around the area of the forest he was in._

_ "Ah…where do you think…Cecilia-nee is?" He asked softly to no one in particular._

_**"…"**__ It was a simple muted reply._

_ Tilting his head to the side, he leaned back against the tree. Today was quiet. It was so quiet. Slowly blinking, he tilted his head up and stared at the sky. It was a full moon. It was a full moon…yet there were no stars. The sky was a pitch black with only the silver shining jewel in the sky._

_ "…How lonely…" Blinking away warm tears, he hummed in silence. Where was Cecilia-nee? Did she go off somewhere again? Without tell him?_

_ Fingers twitching, he yawned and resumed his stare down with the moon. The moon looked…lonely hovering in the sky. Feeling something warm slide down his arm, he frowned as a strip of white came loose. Pulling back his sleeve, he wiped away the blood and retied the bandages._

_ He was still waiting…he was still tired, but he waited. He waited for Cecilia to come. He waited for his sister to come. He waited for father. He waited for mother…for Inu…for Gama…Natsu…but no one ever came. Only Cecilia always came to him. She always knew when he was sad. She'd cheer him up, but why is it that he is sad, yet Cecilia is not here._

_**"…"**__ Came another muted reply._

_ Ah…you're right. 'Cecilia-nee…she's not coming back…' Cracks appearing at the tip of his fingertips, he slowly curled up into a ball. Blue eyes dimming, he slowly came face to face with the fact. Cracks forming below his eyes, he knew…that Cecilia-nee would never come again…_

* * *

_**(Flashback End)**_

* * *

Gazing softly at the tree, he slowly resurfaced from his thoughts and hummed in silence. Turning around, he continued to walk through the narrow path at a steady pace. A large scroll the side of his torso clinging to his back, he looked up towards the moon and frowned.

…He doesn't to know why, but today reminded him a bit of that night. It was dark then to. The clouds were ominous. There were short crackles in the air, and the wind around him had slowly begun to pick up. Parting open his lips, no words came out, and he simply moved forward. His head tilted forward so his bangs would cover the majority of his eyes.

Usagi…Kokoro…Aka…Natsumi…they were both taken…they were both missing. He knew that he held the blame for this. He knew…yet to others…it was not his fault. Kurama would say that it's because he showed weakness to the lower life forms, and that they would choose that moment to attack. Ashe…she would say that he didn't exactly make it any better. His attempts and forcing them to back off through fear…she said it would only work for so long.

…and she was right. It does only work for so long, but for him to try and appease to the insects…it was a simple fact that he shouldn't even need to appease them. They attack him as if it's their right. They scorn him because they want something to blame. They hate him. They hurt him. They despise him. He was alone. And now they're hurting those he starts to care for.

…There is no appeasement for a pathetic flock of sheep that doesn't know its place. In the book, even though he knows he's comparing reality to fantasy, Solomon was loved by his people…and feared at the same time. They knew he was strong. They knew he was terrifying…yet at the same time they still loved him. To them, he brought them hope.

He gave them a chance to start anew. A chance to live without being prejudiced or scorned…and they loved him for that. He cared for them. He built them a village. And in return…they showed him love, knowing whether instinctually or factually that he would never harm them.

In a village filled with hate and spite…such a thing was impossible for him. Stopping for a moment, he simply continued. His eyes glazing over as the path he's talking began to have a familiar dark sheen. A phantasmal trail fazes into existence in front of him only to break apart a couple moments later.

* * *

_**(Flashback)**_

* * *

_Staring at the path in front of him, he took a single step forward. How many times has he gone through here? How many times has dreamed about that night? The answer was…he didn't. Everything that had happened that night had been a mystery to him._

_ It felt like a dream…a horrible never ending dream. It was a Nightmare to him…yet it also inspired a false sense of hope. Tears trailing down his cracked cheeks, he began to hum a small hollow tune. Don't ask him why, but in a way, it felt…appropriate. As the low tune began to travel through the air, the cracks on his fingertips grew to his fingers._

_**"…"**__ Came another muted reply, but for some reason, the humming increased in sound._

_ A soft broken, yet melodic tune sounding through the forest as the cracks on his fingers grew to his palm. Cecilia always loved to sing. When he was sad, she would sing a sad song. When he was happy, she would sing a joyful one, and when mad, a furious one. She always sung a song that matched to what he was feeling._

_ …He had loved it when she was singing. Even though there were no words…to him, it was like watching an angle bringing the world to life with her voice. When she sang, the wind responded in kind. When it echoed, the water ripples in correspondence. It sounded so…pure to him. And he had loved every bit of it._

_ As his humming slowly increased in sound, he never noticed that the blades of grass around him beginning to shift. Whenever he tried to sing, it would come out like this. A broken tune without any magic in its sound, it would never bring life to the world around him. Cecilia didn't think so. She said that it had a distinct…feel to it. It felt sad to her, and while unpolished…sounded like something more. He didn't understand it, but all he knew was that she liked, so he continued. He liked it when she was happy._

_ Cerulean blue eyes flashing, the cracks under his eyes chipped as they began to glow a faint blue mist. Following the trial ahead, all he could think about how he'll never hear her sing again. How he'll never hear her voice. How she'll never tease him…hug him…care for him. She'll never do any of those again…because she was gone. A crack formed around his throat as the tears dripped down his chin. The droplets of water gleamed for but a moment, before landing on the grass with a soft plop._

* * *

_**(Flashback End)**_

* * *

He had hated them back. He had loathed the. Despising them all was too weak a word, and when she accidentally let it slip in front of Cecilia, she had simply smiled at him before bopping him on the head…rather hard at that. It had hurt, and when he thought about it, that was the first time she ever hit him.

But unlike the villagers, she didn't show anything remotely similar to hate. She simply hugged him afterwards telling him that she was sorry. She told him that hating people, while sometimes justified, should never be allowed to fester and grow.

He was confused, but she told him that if all he had was hate inside, then he would slowly push everyone away from him. He told her that he didn't have anyone. She told him that he had her, and he nodded before melting himself further into her hug.

She said that when you allow hatred to fester and grow, asked what would happen when it was all gone. When the source of it was gone, he would be all alone, and he would be without purpose. She said that he would feel empty inside in the end. Because in the end, when all the hatred and rage disappears, he would only feel tired. He took her word for it.

But she also told him that it was okay to feel angry, but that he shouldn't just hold it in. She told him not to let people walk over him. She told him that it would only give them an excuse to do it again and again. To show people that he wasn't one to be messed with. He was confused, but agreed. In the end though, right here, right now, it's seems that there are just people who just won't learn.

* * *

_**(Flashback)**_

* * *

_In the middle of a clearing, flickering blue eyes stared at a particular tree in silence. A melodic yet broken tune echoed in the clearing as he took one step forward. A tune that grew stronger and stronger with every step he took, he simply stared with silent dim eyes._

_ He knew that it wasn't a dream. He knew that it wasn't a Nightmare, but he had hoped. It was a false hope, he knew that, but it was hope none the less. He had hoped that the night never happened. He had hoped that he would see his sister leaning against the tree. Healthy and filled with smiles before enveloping him in one of her usual warmth filled hugs. He had hoped…and he had failed._

_ Arriving at the center of the clearing, he parted open his lips, and the tune drastically grew in size as it echoed across the entire clearing. Its melodic sound vibrating along the air as the blades of stained grass shook back and forth. He had told himself that crying was something he would never show anyone. He had told himself that he wouldn't give them the pleasure of seeing his tears…of seeing __**him…**_

_ But with no one here, he continued to let the tears drip on the ground below. The small droplets of water gleamed for but a moment, before plopping silently on the soft earth below. They didn't shatter. Dim eyes slowly brightening, his voice rose in heights as the surrounding trees began to rumble in response._

_ Cecilia had said that the strength and magic of her singing comes from the power of her emotions. The stronger the emotion, the bigger impact the melody makes. The more complex your feelings are…the higher the pitch, but the simple and pure brings the pitch down._

_ She told them that in the past, people used their voices and songs to bring about miracles. People of today had long since forgotten about them. They had forgotten about many things in the past. So many things disappeared as a result, but all it takes is one thought. All it takes is a single memory, and the forgotten past can come alive once again._

_ So he sang. There were no words to it, only his voice, but he continued to sing. The forest around had responded in kind to his thoughts. The wind slowly picked up and dropped in accordance to his tune. The leaves rustled. The world around shook in vibrations as the earth began to tremble. As the light in his eyes slowly began to return, they watered as more and more tears began to fall._

_ With every step he took, it was like something sounded. Stopping in front of the tree, he eyed the dark stains that riddled the ground and tree around him. Cecilia had told him that the voice can bring about miracles. She had told him that the world around responds in kind to the sound of the soul. It doesn't come in words. It comes from the soul she had said. She had said that anyone could do it. That all they had to do was believe…to hope._

_ …to him…hope was nothing but a dream. To him…belief was for the weak. To him…a dream was nothing but a fantasy. He had hoped so many times for someone to save him. He had believed so many times that things would turn around. He had dreamed…and it turned into Nightmares._

_ Taking a final step towards the tree, he slowly turned around and leaned his back against its bark. His form sliding down towards the ground, he curled up into a ball. The tears would no longer come. His eyes were as bright as they could be, but in reality, they were nothing but glass._

_ As his song echoed in the world around him, he had begun to think. He was weak. As the forest trembled, he began to relax. He was a fool. Cecilia protected him. She loved him. She cared for him. But what did he give her in return. In the end…she died. She left him because he was weak. She left because he couldn't protect her. He let people walk over him. He had hoped for the best. He had belief that his parents would notice him. He had dreams that simply turned into Nightmares that reminded him that he was weak._

_ One could dream all they want. One could hope for all they need. One could believe what they need. But in the end, if you don't have strength, what can you do. He wanted to protect her, but he could not. To protect those you love, you need power. To get power, you need to abandon the foolish trinkets called dreams, belief, and hope. For without power, how could you protect those you love when you can't even protect yourself?_

* * *

_**(Flashback End—Three Minutes till Midnight)**_

* * *

"…Looks like the brat has three minutes left." A male voice muttered in a smug tone. "Guess he doesn't really care for you bitches' after all." He laughed turning towards his captives. "But after all, what can you expect from a demon." He asked rhetorically. Sneering at the two, he frowned irritably for a moment before remembering his objective.

He was a man that stood at a height of '5'09'' while sporting a green unzipped flak jacket and slightly baggy dark blue body suit underneath. He has white shoulder length hair with a tint of blue to it and had his wore his forehead protector like a bandanna. Two large Shurikens latched onto his back.

"Oh yeah…almost forgot," He muttered irritably. "If the brat doesn't show, then I still need to get the scroll for Hebi-sama." Trust the demon brat to ruin everything. Grumbling under his breath, he looked around the woods and scowled. Where were the others? They should have been here a while ago.

Cerulean blue eyes narrowing in disgust at the man, Natsumi twitched as a flicker of pain flashed through her mind. Eyes drifting down, she inwardly cursed at her predicament. Small square sheets of papers with seal arrays on them littered her form. _'How the hell did this bastard get Chakra Suppression Seals?'_ These things are only given to those of Jounin rank and higher. So how the hell did a Chunin get a hold of not just one, but a dozen.

Growling inwardly, she scowled. Looking to her side, she eyed the unconscious Koko-chan with regret. She wasn't even supposed to be in this situation. She didn't pass the Academy, so why would Mizuki-teme go after her. And most of all, why is he forcing Naruto, a civilian to retrieve the Scroll of Sealing when he, a Chunin could not? It doesn't make any sense!

'_Then again, neither does the fact that the majority of the village hating on her brother for something he's not!'_ She thought bitterly. Looking around, she found the area she was in to be unfamiliar. It was a small clearing that was surrounded by a lot of closely packed trees. The only path into it being the one Mizuki-teme was facing right now.

Eye's drifting towards the dark stains that littered the ground, she frowned. For some reason, she felt that she shouldn't be here. She felt as if this clearing wasn't something someone was just supposed to waltz in. Eyeing the stains, she flinched back as a deep red puddle blinked into existence.

"That's a blood stain." Mizuki said simply catching her attention.

Glaring at him, she simply scowled. "And how would you know that?" She snapped viciously. Oh how she wanted to impale the bastard with her Chakra Chains!

Snorting softly, a brief sense of melancholy flashed through his eyes. "Because I know exactly who the blood belonged to." Eyeing the stains, he simply turned to face the tree. "Ah, what the hell, I'm bored and the demon brat doesn't seem to be coming any time soon. So I'll tell you a story!"

Frowning, she huffed. "And what'd make you think I'd want to listen?" She said glaring at him.

Grinning, he chuckled. "Oh you will, after all," Stopping slowly for a moment, he scowled. "It involves your demon brat of a brother!"

_'Naruto,'_ Frowning, she scowled and was about to retort when she heard a low mumble. Turning around, she watched as Kokoro blinked her eyes opened and frowned.

"So the other bitch is finally awake." Mizuki drawled lazily eyeing her for a moment before looking back to the tree.

Blinking in confusion, Kokoro looked around frantically. When she found that she couldn't move her arms, she noticed that she was tied up by rope. "Whats…going on," She asked lowly. "Where…am I?"

"We've both been kidnapped by a megalomaniac who's bent on using my brother to give him a scroll of power so said megalomaniac can give it to his even more megalomaniacal of a master who's bent on world domination." Natsumi said flatly explaining the situation in a single sentence.

Staring at her unblinkingly, she nodded. "Ah…okay then." Not really, but what can she do against a Chunin? She wasn't even a Gennin.

Giving the red headed girl a smoldering glare, he sighed. "Now that the audience is paying attention, I suppose I tell you the story of how your demon of a brother was finally proven to be a demon." He chuckled.

Eyes twitching, Natsumi's scowl deepened. "Oh; and how's that," She retorted angrily. She was about to make another retort, but Mizuki-teme's next sentence made the words die at her throat.

"Because this was the place where your brother had his heart destroyed."

"…eh," Was the single word that passed through Kokoro's lips. _'Naruto's…heart…but, he's still…alive…right?'_ Mind flashing back to the last couple of days, Naruto's face popping up every now and then. She shook his head. Naruto was alive. He still moved. When he hugged her, he still had a beating heart? So, what Mizuki-sensei saying is a lie!

"What are you blabbering on about!?" Natsumi shouted after regaining her voice. "Naruto was walking and talking just a couple hours ago! There's no way he's dead!" Shaking her head, she scowled. What the hell is this jackass trying to pull spouting out these lies!

Sighing in understanding, Mizuki scowled. "I was talking in a metaphorical sense brat. The brat's heart wasn't exactly destroyed…" Slowly down, his tone became a bit more melancholic once more. "It was basically the demon's reason for living!"

Blinking, she shook her head and scowled. "As I said before, what the hell are you talking about? Reason for living," She repeated. "He still had a family-"

"That didn't give two shits' for the brat." Mizuki retorted cutting her off. "Admit it. You people didn't really even notice the demon until a couple days ago. You never noticed eight years of beatings, eight years of fox hunts, hatred, scorn, and bloodstained days the brat had to go through. You never noticed a single fucking one of them and proclaim that you were still his family." Eyeing the girl besides Natsumi with pity, he laughed. "If that's what you call family then I think he was better off without one!"

"…eh," Blinking silently, Kokoro stared at Mizuki-sensei with a blank expression before turning to face Natsumi. Why is she angry? Why wasn't she replying? It's not true right? Why would anyone want to hurt Naruto? Shaking her head, she turned back to Mizuki who gave her an odd look before realizing something.

"You don't know…do you?" He asked with barely masked glee. "Well then, I wouldn't want to ruin the parade, so I'll just continue with the story." Spreading his arms out, his smile twitched to a frown. "This place here is where the demon brat's heart died…and it was also the place where he slaughtered several dozen villagers without remorse." Stopping for a moment to take in their numb expressions, he grinned.

"…why…why does everyone…hate Naruto…so much?" Kokoro whispered tilting her head forward. Eyes glazed over, she looked between Natsumi and Mizuki-sensei with an unreadable expression on her face. "What did…he do to deserve…this?"

"He lived." Mizuki replied coldly. "There are two things that the villagers call the demon brat. The Hero's Blemish…and the Forgotten Son. If you can't figure it out, then it was a mercy that you failed to become a Kunoichi, girl."

"Ah~…why are you giving them another hint," Snapping his head around, Mizuki smirked wearily as footsteps eerily echoed in the forest. "The Hero's Blemish…The Forgotten Son…no matter how many times I hear those titles," Glacial cerulean eyes blinked in the darkness of the trees. "…Tell me Mizuki…I wonder where you learned that story." Feeling something nick his skin, he pressed his fingers against his right cheek wiping the blood that flowed out of a thin slice that appeared.

"Just something I heard through the grapevine." He smirked, hiding his nervousness inside. How had the demon sneaked up on him, a Chunin, when the brat isn't even an Academy student? "You hear a lot of interesting things in the underground."

Eye's narrowing in thought, the voice hummed in thought. "…Guess what they say is true after all." Chuckling briefly, a shiver crawled up everyone's spine at the pure maliciousness in it. "That those that shine the brightest always have the deepest shadows. I wonder what else can be learned there!?" He pondered thoughtfully.

Tensing as the eyes turned back to meet his, Mizuki swallowed, but kept its gaze. "If you're so curious, all you have to do is give me the scroll, and I'll be on my way."

After a moment's notice, Natsumi finally snapped out of her stupor and growled. "Mizuki-teme, what are you talking about!? There's no way he could have gotten—"Hearing something slam into the ground, the words died in her mouth as she slowly turned back to the voice.

Stepping out of the shadows, Naruto eyes shifted towards Natsumi and Kokoro. They were a bit battered, but other than that they were okay. Eyes drifting towards his sister, he frowned. "Weren't you the Kunoichi of the Year?" He commented airily making her growl.

"Yes, but a starting Gennin is still a Gennin!" She snapped at him. "I'm not going to even ask how you got the scroll, but why did you even bring it!?" Opening her mouth to continue, she felt Kokoro nudge into her and frowned. Before she could even ask why, she just motioned back to Naruto much to Natsumi's confusion. "…Look." She whispered.

Grumbling to herself, she turned back to face her brother…only to see something completely different. Swallowing a bout of nervousness, she frowned as she noticed that Naruto's visage was a bit…eerie. His irises had turned into slits while the black pupil that's in the center had somehow disappeared. What's more…when she looks into his eyes, all she can compare it to was to the look her father had one time. It was after the Uchiha Massacre…and he had a sharp glacial look in his eyes when he was talking to the weird mummy man.

Sensing the two girl's nervousness, he hummed in silent amusement. Eyes drifting towards the scroll he held upright on the ground, he grinned. "…While I would be curious…I was simply wondering something as well," He commented with a small smile. Turning to meet Mizuki in the eye, his smile widened. "Tell me…**where did you hear that story?"** Smile turning frosty, his eyes flashed a demonic red as his grip on the scroll tightened. **"…You say that I killed dozens of villagers at this very spot, but I'm wondering…how anyone could know about it if everyone was killed before they could tell the tale…it confuses me."** Taking a single step forward, his smile dropped to a frown.

Gritting his teeth, Mizuki kept the grin on his face as he stared down at the now red eyed demon. "Yes, how exactly would I know? Maybe someone who you thought you killed ended up surviving?" He proposed nervously.

**"…that would be an acceptable response…"** Naruto muttered eyes drooping. "…Anyhow…you wanted the scroll yes?" He asked calmly.

Sighing in relief, he nodded. "Yes, give the scroll and I'll leave you with your girl." Grinning carefully as the boy eyed him, he held out his hand. "Toss it here, and no funny business either of the tags on them go off!" Grinning maliciously, he watched as the demon's eyes drifted towards them for a brief moment before returning to him. "You wouldn't want to say goodbye to **another** friend, am I right." It wasn't a question as so much as it was a statement.

…but in that single sentence, Mizuki finally got a reaction. Just not the one he was hoping for. When Naruto heard those words, his facial muscles simply relaxed as he stared at the man in silence. His already glacial eyes blanking as his grip on the scroll loosened. "…I…see." He silently said. Picking up the scroll, he tossed it into the air a couple times. Gripping one end tightly, he nodded with a blank expression on his face. "…Here." And with that, Naruto shot it forward right towards Mizuki. **"…catch."**

* * *

**Ah...here's a new chapter. A bit small compared to the others, but I hope you like it!**


	9. Chapter 8

_**I don't own Naruto, but any and all original Characters are mine**_

_**Chapter 8**_

* * *

_"…are you leaving?" He whispered as he buried his head into the crook of her neck. "…are you?"_

_ Grey eyes blinking wearily, she gave him a small grin as she ran her fingers through his locks. "Who…knows?" She said jokingly."…I don't really…feel like…moving right now." Looking up towards the sky, she slowly fingered the cracks under her eyes. "…Maybe…tomorrow…" Feeling him stiffen in her arms, she hummed in silence._

_ "Will you come back?" He asked tightening his grip on her._

_ Wincing slightly, she positioned herself carefully and moved him to her lap. He made it easier for her once he knew what she wanted. "…Who…knows…"She repeated smiling. Seeing her fingertips cracking, she watched as her little fishcake wrapped his fingers around her's. He looked at the cracks and pressed his hands on them. She didn't really feel anything, but she knew he was trying to mend the pieces. "…You…okay?" She asked blinking wearily._

_ Feeling her head drift forward, she blinked again when her fishcake leaned her back against the tree. "No I'm not." He muttered making her frown weakly. "…I'm not okay…I don't like it." He said with a bit more force in his voice._

_ She didn't say anything, opting to watch as he stared at her wounds with a lost look in his eyes. "Does my…little fishcake…need…a hug?" She grinned. Motioning her arms forward, her expression dropped when the sound of cracking filled the air. Eyes drifting towards her right, she watched as small pieces of her hand dropped to the ground below. Shattering in small shards of light, she smiled weakly as weak confusion played in the boy's eyes._

_ "…ah…guess I won't…be able…to play any…more." She admitted with a regretful sigh._

_ Naruto could only stare in silence. Looking towards her arm, he motioned towards the broken hand. Her hand broke. It shattered like glass. Hand moving forward, he flinched back as his fingers touched her thumb. Said thumb cracking before shattering in small yellow firefly like lights. 'Cecilia-nee…is disappearing…' _

_ Turning to face her, he watched as the light in her eyes grew dimmer and dimmer. He watched as crack began to slowly appear all over her body. Yellow streams of light emanating from the openings, he could only stare in silence. His nee-chan was leaving. She was going away…_

_ "…don't go…" he whimpered. "…please!" Staring at her pleadingly, he watched as she motioned her left hand forward. Her shoulders shaking from strain as she wiped way the tears dripping from the corner of his eyes. It shattered not a moment later._

_ "…you're a boy…boy's…shouldn't cry." She teased softly. "Are you…a boy?" She asked._

_ Staring, he sniffed and nodded after a moment. "…So don't cry…" She whispered._

_ "…I don't like it." He whispered again. "Why do you have to go?" He asked her. "Why can't you stay here? Choking back a sob, he hiccupped as his eyes began to water._

_ Staring at him with a sad smile, she shook her head. "No one…is meant to stay…forever." She whispered. "…I…was never meant…to stay here…so long." Seeing the sorrowful confusion in his eyes, she shook her head._

_ "Then why did you?" He asked persistently. She was still talking. That was good for him. The more she talked, the more time he had to figure things out. He doesn't want her to go! Hands shaking, he continued to wrack his brain for the answers._

_ "…I don't know…" She mumbled dazedly. "At first…it was just…to see…but when I saw…a small helpless child…I couldn't help but squeal." She smiled pulling him closer. "The child…was so adorable…he had the cutest…whiskers…the deepest of gold for hair…as well as the softest…cerulean eyes." Feeling her grip on him slacken, she ignored the cracks that began to form on her legs. "He was so…adorable…so innocent…yet at the same time…I couldn't help but feel…sad..."_

_ Looking up at her, his lips quirked down to a shaky frown, "Why were you sad?" he whispered._

_ "I was sad…because the child…was broken." She answered. "He was so pure…so innocent…so young…but yet he was broken." Eyes drifting down towards Naruto, she frowned as her eyes began to glaze over. "His eyes…were so pure…yet it looked so hollow. He walked…as if he all but…given up." Tears glistening in her eyes, she hugged him closer. Cracks littering her entire form as she held him close. "When he spoke…it held so much emotion…yet it sounded so…lifeless. It was sad," She said. "…it was so sad…and familiar...so I stayed."_

_ Melting into her hug, he stood frozen as her tears dripped down onto his head. "What happened to the boy?"_

_ "…I made him…happy again." She smiled softly. "He was so alone…so hated…so I sang." Eyes snapping open, a small memory fazed into the forefront of his mind._

_ "A song from the soul…" He started._

_ "…can create miracles…" She finished. "He was so happy…he was so full of life…"_

_ "And now he's going to return the favor." Naruto whispered._

_ Turning around, back against her chest, a small hum began to escape through his lips. Eyeing the child on her lap with a smile, she closed her eyes as her right arm shattered. The golden pieces slowly vanished as they ascended higher into the rainy sky._

_ Hearing more cracks, he continued to hum in silence. Dry tears making their way down his cheeks, his silent song continued into the air. The rain dripped towards the ground. The leaves rustled against the wind. The air vibrated in silence. The earth shook and trembled. The sky rumbled. His song held no words, but as he parted open his lips, a silent melody echoed into the world around._

_ So many times he had heard her sing. So many times he had heard her laughs. So many times he had seen her smiles. He had seen her frowns. He had seen her angry. He remembered her hugs. He remembered her voice. He remembered the emotion that danced on her tongue. As memories played through his mind, the earth around began to respond to his song._

_ The rustling leaves were silenced. The rumbling sky had stopped. The breezing wind tingling along his skin, he increased the power behind his voice. The earth around them rumbling in correspondence, he listened to the pitter-patter of the rain and sang. Tear's glistening down his cheeks; he opened he eyes up towards the sky. Cerulean blue eyes glistening with tears, he felt a single arm wrap itself around his waist turning him around. But even then he did not stop._

_ Even as his throat continued to sting, he only sang louder. There were no words to it. It was only pure sound. But even then, to any who was listening. Making out the sorrow in the tune made them stiffen. Listening to the pain that vibrated in the air made them cry. The song sounded so broken…yet so beautiful. It was so unrefined…but the emotion behind it was clear._

_ Moving forward, he hugged tightly to Cecilia's torso. His arms wrapped tightly around her torso. His fingers gripping tightly onto her clothing, he didn't want to let go. Even as he continued to sing…even as the world around them responded to his song…he just didn't want to let go._

_ But no matter how tightly his fingers gripped, the clothing they held onto disappeared. No matter how tightly he wrapped his arms around her waist, it simply shattered. The pieces dissolving into the sky as he stumbled forward. His singing temporally halted, it was as if time had stopped moving…before he returned with twice the force. The world around him responding in kind as the very clearing began to shake._

_ Turning around, he eyed the small ethereal form that hovered in the air. Cecilia slowly disappearing in fireflies, she stared at him with a smile. As she moved closer, he simply sounded louder. A pulse of energy metaphorically ripping through the air around him, he never noticed the blood that began to drip down his nose._

_He only sang in hope of saving what he loved. He ignored the pain in his throat. He ignored the pain in his ears. He ignored his nose. He simply watched and sang to the one in front. Desperately hoping that the miracle would come, he continued to sing. Cerulean blue eyes flashing amethyst, a second burst began to build up inside. When she came closer, he was about to release it when a pair of arms softly wrapped themselves around his neck._

_Eyes widening, the emotion of the song increase, yet it grew no louder. Feeling his form being pushed into her bosom, he looked forward and stared into Cecilia's warmth filled grey eyes. The black of her hair flashing a snow white shade as the white flashed a pitch black. His own flashing amethyst staring into her eyes, she parted away his spiky bangs and leaned forward. Lightly pressing her lips on the tip of his nose, she smiled. Her lips parting open to form words that silently reached his ears…_

_And just like that, everything shattered. Cecilia's form dissipating in a cloud of fireflies that slowly faded in the rainy sky above. All he could do was stare… his thoughts completely on her last words as his tears mixed in with the rain. __**"That was a beautiful song," She had whispered. "It truly was…my little maelstrom…"**__ And just as she disappeared, one final word had reached his ear. __**"Sayonara."**__ And with that, he simply stared into the sky. His lips parted, and the song continuing. But as the seconds go by, so did the sound…and Naruto slowly drop to the ground. His eyes filled with tears, he felt he had nothing left to fear._

_Even when as he stared into the sky, his heart had decided it was time to say bye. He was always alone at the very start, yet when he met her he felt as if something had crawled into his heart. But now that it's as empty as it was when it began, he felt as if nothing could hurt him ever again. And as his song slowly came to an end, he had decided that they'd better have the devil to send, for if he ever meets them again, even god would come to an end._

* * *

_**(Flashback End—With Ashe)**_

* * *

Staring passively at the scene before her, she frowned. "Kurama…do you remember what happened here." It wasn't a question.

Lazily opening a single eye, the fox replied with a deep throaty grunt. **"Of course…"** Eyeing the area, he snorted. **"This is the same place where the brat almost got himself killed."** The seal was an annoying interference at the time.

Images of the incident flashing in her mind, she nodded. "Naruto's attempt at singing wasn't something that should be possible." She started slowly. "The ability to connect to the world around them with mere sound alone…that ability should have been lost after that world faded away."

**"And in attempting to do so when the people of today have no such ability nearly killed him in the process."** Kurama snorted lowly. **"The brat came close to death oh so many times, but he still managed to survive." **_**'Troublesome Uzumaki's,' **_He grumbled inwardly. No matter how many times you squash them, they keep on coming back for more.

"…your right, what he did at the time was reckless and could have killed him." She agreed after a moment.

**"Yet it was because he was connecting to the world around him that you were able to forge a connection to the boy."** The fox pointed out lazily.

"Ah…there's another point you made my pet." Ignoring his growls of irritation, she frowned. The way the girl died was not normal. Not normal at all. Human bodies don't just disappear in a cloud of fireflies. "But what I'm thinking about is the incident that happened afterwards."

Eyes drifting towards the snow haired woman, he simply grunted in displeasure. **"The villagers found him minutes afterwards…right."**

Keeping her eye on the mirror scene in front of her, she nodded. "What happened afterwards…"Trailing off, her frown deepened at the memory.

Gazing silently at the scene below, Kurama nodded in slight understanding. He is a being made up of pure malice and the negative aspects of humanity. Such a way of slaughter…it did not please him one bit. It did not…and now they were probably going to witness it yet again. **"You're not going to stop him?"**

"…would he listen?" She responded with her own question.

**"Probably not, but weren't you the type to avoid needless violence?"** He asked.

Eyes shifting towards the great fox, she sighed. "If there was anything my older brother taught me…" Eyeing the scene below with trepidation, she narrowed her eyes. "It's that when things get persona you rip their fucking heads off." This man kidnapped people that Naruto had just started to open up to. He threatened to end them. She wasn't going to stop this…oh no. She was going to enjoy every…fucking…minute.

* * *

_**(With Naruto)**_

* * *

"Ah…you dodged." He commented. Tilting his head to the side in confusion, he frowned thoughtfully. **"Why **di**d** **you** **d**od**ge?"** He asked in a distorted tone. Fingers cracking, he eyed the squatting Mizuki with a frown.

Sweat dripping down his chin, Mizuki blanched inwardly at the thought of catching it. Getting back to his feet, he let his eyes drift towards the scroll that hit the tree behind him before harmlessly falling to the ground. _'Harmless my ass,'_ He snarled. The demon did something to it, and that would be the only reason he'd dodge. _'Guess drinking the elixir before coming here was a good thing.'_ If not, then he'd probably be dead.

Turning his attention towards the demon, his eyes widened when the brat was no longer there. "Ah…guess I'll just have to toss it again."

Tapping his foot, Naruto watched as Mizuki turned around with a blank expression. His right hand juggling the scroll lightly into the air, he twitched. **"Catch."** Arm snapping forward, the scroll shot forward in a blur. Instead of catching, Mizuki simply jumped to his left. When the scroll was just about to pass him though, Naruto appeared grabbing it at one side before twisting his waist and smashing it into the Chunin's side in a one shattering crack. Eye's narrowing; the log that took the man's place became splinters.

Turning around, Naruto eyed the man that stood crouched on a nearby tree branch. "Here I'm planning on giving you the scroll, but here you are dodging my attempts." He frowned thoughtfully. "Do you really want it?" Taking a step forward, he eyed the tree that Mizuki was on and stopped.

Gritting his teeth, Mizuki growled in annoyance. "ENOUGH WITH YOUR GAMES KYUUBI," He shouted throughout the clearing. "Give me the scroll or else I'll send your girls to a fiery grave!" Hands positioned in a hand sign, he glared at the boy in front of him in utmost hatred.

Staring blankly at the man in above him, he hummed in silence. "Kyuubi am I…" He mumbled to himself. "How many times you people called me that…I can't help but wonder." Taking a single step forward, Mizuki simply tensed. "I can't help but wonder…" He repeated softly. Eyes drifting towards the girls, he hummed in silence. "…I suppose it doesn't really matter anymore though." Stopping, his eyes flashed red.

"What are you mumbling about Kyuubi!?" Mizuki snapped impatiently. "Just give me the scroll!"

Staring at the man above, only one word came to mind. **"No."** That simple word echoed throughout the clearing.

"Wha—do you want them to die?" He shouted irritably. "If you weren't going to give it to me; then why' are you even here!?" _'This was not supposed to happen. The little shit was supposed to bring and give me the scroll. I then send the girls into a fiery inferno, and while the brats distracted, kill the demon and become a hero. Simple.'_ Glaring at him, he simply gritted his teeth in frustration.

Staring back passively, he tilted his head to the side. "Don't know really." He admitted. "I guess I was just interested in how Natsumi was caught, being the Yondaime's daughter and all." Speaking of Natsumi, he turned towards her with a raised brow and his lips twitched upwards. "Guess you're not as strong as everyone believes."

Face flushing with rage, she growled. "As I said Baka-Naruto, I am an Academy Graduate, a Gennin!" She snapped angrily. "Get it through that strangled noodle you call a head!"

Chuckling softly, he turned back to Mizuki who was turning red with anger at being ignored. Wow, he was losing his cool fast. "Aka-chan~, that's not a really nice way to speak to someone who's trying to save you~!" He whined childishly.

"Bite me!" She snapped.

"With pleasure," He grinned making her flush. "Is what I would like to say…right now I've got a bug that's has an appointment with death!" Turning to meet said bug, he grinned.

Biting back a retort, she simply growled instead. Calming down…for the moment, she turned to Kokoro and sighed when she saw the look of confusion on her face. "Koko-chan…I'll explain everything later, so please…see my brother for who he actually is." Meeting her eyes, she smiled when she nodded.

"…you mean…the annoying flirt…?" She asked making Natsumi nod with a smile. "…then yes." After this is over, she'll have to gather some more of her toys and ask him some questions. Answering is mandatory…hmm? Wonder when she started being more bold. Ear's twitching, Naruto grinned at their little conversation.

Finger's twitching; Mizuki growled and pulled a shuriken off of his back. Grip tightening on its smooth surface, a small grin played on his lips. "If you won't give me the scroll, then I'll just take it from your corpse." Grin widening, he sent a pulse of chakra into the air, and the sound of sizzling could be heard.

Head snapping towards the girls, he watched as some of the tags that littered Natsumi's form began to spark. Eyes freezing over, he simply gripped the scroll tightly before slamming one end on the ground below. A spiraling torrent of wind erupted from the ground below forcefully removing the grass from their roots and the tags on Natsumi into the air. He then trailed the scroll around him in a full circle before kicking it up in the air. The gathered wind exploded outwards shredding everything around him within a five meter radius cutting the tags into pieces. With the wind spreading out in the clearing, he flipped the air-borne scroll and slammed one end back on the ground releasing a shock-wave of air the pulsed throughout the area. The force of the impact cratering the ground below as the airborne pieces of the exploding notes where scattered throughout the forest.

An exploding note takes three seconds to detonate. Naruto's entire procedure simply took one. Eye's sharpening; he simply stared at the gaping Chunin in blank amusement. "Ah…**playing with fire is a no-no."** Eyeing the tree in front of him, he frowned.

"Naruto…" Natsumi deadpanned.

"Yes~ Aka-chan!" Naruto drawled eyes glinting in amusement.

"When we get back, you're explaining." It didn't seem like a request either. Thinking on it, he shrugged.

Grinding his teeth, Mizuki bit down on the insides of his cheeks as they continued to ignore him. He had been counting on the explosion to do them in, but whatever it was the demon did had all but ruined that. _'So he wasn't lying after all.'_ He muttered inwardly. The brat was able to control wind. To what extent, he wasn't told.

_"If your first plan backfires, go with the back-up. But be warned; choose your words carefully less you find yourself at the end of his fury."_ That was what his contact had told him. But really, to think that he has to propose a compromise with the demon brat, it's beneath him.

"You're not planning on giving the scroll anytime soon," Mizuki started calmly. "Are you?"

Staring back through half-lidded eyes, Naruto lips thinned as his eyes returned to their emotionless state. "I never really planned on giving it to you to begin with." He drawled lazily. "You call me a demon, but let me give you a bit of trivia. **Demons don't compromise. You give them what they want, and you pray to the devil that they are in a good mood."** He didn't need to say what would happen if they weren't.

Grinning slightly, Mizuki tensed as the next words passed his lips. "Then I suppose you wouldn't be interested in a bit of a trade." He laughed lowly. "Information for information and all that…" Trailing off, his fingers twitched, his grip tightening on the Dai-Shuriken.

Scoffing lightly, Naruto hummed in silence. "And what would you have that I don't know?" Grip tightening, he took a step forward and eyed the man warily. "The earlier deal had already combusted, so don't even think—"

"Then I supposed you wouldn't want to know." He grinned eerily. "And here I thought you loved your dear **Cecilia-nee!**"

Throat suddenly dry, the words died before they passed his lips. Expression blank, he stared silently at Mizuki through half-lidded eyes. Muscles slackened, he ignored the looks sent his way by the girls who were now free and on their feet.

Grin twisting in a feral like manner, Mizuki barked out a laugh. "So that did catch your attention, didn't demon brat!" He openly mocked. His contact may have told him to be careful with his words, but the shock and surprise that filled the demon brat's face was just too much to resist! "Don't you think it was odd Kyuubi? You, a being famed for being the untraceable trickster ended up being found meeting and talking with a girl! You were oh so careful in covering your tracks! You wanted to make sure that no one found out about her! You wanted to keep her to **yourself**, so you did everything you could to hide any traces of her existence!" Eyes glinting cruelly, he watched in twisted glee as the Kyuubi's face began to twitch ever so slightly.

"You were oh so careful, but in the end, it wasn't enough." Waving his right hand over the area, he chuckled. "Your dear **Nee-chan** died at this very spot. She was killed, protecting you from your rightfully due punishment!"

For Natsumi and Kokoro, they could only help but watch as Mizuki's words echoed in the silence. They watched as Naruto seem to stiffen with every word. They watched as his expression grew tighter and tighter with the end of every sentence. His eyes freezing over to a frosted cerulean blue shade that periodically flashed into a demonic red hue. The wind had abruptly stopped. The air suddenly became tense.

Carefully wrapping her fingers around Kokoro's wrists, she met her eyes for a brief moment and frowned softly. Kokoro was shifting through her pockets. Her eyes shining a light golden color, she retracted small black cubes from her pockets. She wasn't sure what Kokoro was going to do with them, but Mizuki-teme's voice brought her back to the scene in front.

"Wouldn't you want to know?" He jeered at her brother. "Give me the scroll, and I'll tell you!" He proposed with a twisted grin. "I'll tell you of the one responsible for your dear Cecilia's **death!**"

Eye's drooping; he stared silently at the one before him. Parting open his lips, no words came out. Fingers clenching around one end of the scroll, Naruto paused for several seconds about what had just been said. Closing his mouth, he relaxed for a moment. "Ah…I see…" Tapping his toes against the ground, he took a deep breath…and vanished surprising everyone in the clearing.

Snapping his head up, Mizuki knew that he might as well have fucked up. Growling, he might as well kill the brat and take the scroll of his corpse. Just as he was about to move, he stiffened. Coughing, blood dripped from the corner of his lips. Shakingly looking down, he stared at the arm that had burst out of his chest from behind. Blood dripping of its fingertips, he craned his neck around only to come face to face with blood red slitted orbs.

Head snapping up, his body twisted around slashing out at thin air with the Dai-Shuriken cutting nothing but empty space. Sweat pouring down his face, he patted down his chest with his free hand and saw no gaping hole. Turning around, a hand crashed down onto his face, fingers gripping tightly onto his skull. Glacial cerulean blue eyes flashing, Naruto tightened his grip on the man forcing his grip on his weapon to slacken. Twisting his waist around, he lifted Mizuki over his shoulders and slammed him down through the tree branch they were standing on. Its fragile bark shattering, they both began their descent to the ground below.

Temporarily letting go of the man's skull, he passed the scroll from his right hand to his left. His right hand snapping around Mizuki's left arm before twisting around in a spin. Swinging Mizuki around mercilessly in the air, Naruto's grip slackened for the moment and he used the spins momentum to shoot the Chunin towards the earth. Spinning one last time, he switched hands once more and shot the Forbidden scroll right down as Mizuki slammed back first into the earth cracking it. The bottom end of the scroll slammed right into his abdomen burrowing him further into the earth.

Halting his rotation, Naruto spun forward a couple times as he descended towards ground level. Lashing out with his right leg, he slammed it down on the top end of the scroll forcing Mizuki further into the earth. The man's torso lurching forward as blood escaped his lips. Eye's sharpening, he parted open his lips softly as he breathed in air through his nose.

* * *

_**(With Natsumi)**_

* * *

_"Cover…your…ears" _Head snapping out of the shock she gained from the scene above, she felt a sense of dread drop into her stomach. She recognized Naruto's voice anywhere. Clapping her hands over her ears, she looked over to Kokoro and watched as there was now a larger cube in her hand. Strange light blue lines littering its black surface in an interconnecting network, she was about to say something when the black cube shifted at Kokoro's touch. Rapidly breaking down into small cubes before coming together again in the form of ear muffs, all she could do was gape at the grinning girl putting it on. Before she could comment, she handed her a pair from…somewhere. Staring at them and her, she shook her head worrying about it later and put it on. Hmm, useful…

* * *

_**(With Naruto)**_

* * *

Stopping his intake of air, he slammed his left foot down on the scroll stopping any kind of movement from the man below. Closing his lips, he reopened them a moment later as released the air gathered in one full breath. The sound of shrieking wind enveloping the world and beyond, Naruto and the scroll was flung high into the air as cannons of wind burrowed itself into the ground below ripping it asunder.

Slamming his mouth shut, he grabbed a hold of the airborne scroll and peeled open the corner of its parchment. Twisting his body around in a spinning motion, the scroll unwound itself as cold warmth enveloped his senses. His eyes flashing a deep amethyst, the remaining gusts of wind trailed behind the scrolls unwound paper. As he ascended further into the air, his eyes flashing once more, he quickly wound up the scroll with the streaming trails of wind following behind.

Scroll closed, Naruto guided the trailing wind to compress in on itself before spiraling around the scrolls form. Eyeing the still Mizuki below, he snapped his arm down and the scroll shot down towards the earth like a spiraling bullet. Burrowing Mizuki even deeper into the earth, the winds violent backlash shot the surrounding earth into the air and uprooted the nearest trees making the crumble.

With the backlash of the attack pushing him further into the air, he eyed the cloud of dust from several dozen meters in the air. A mixture of emotions rampaging through his mind as the clearing crumbled before his very eyes. A streak of red shooting through the trees, he watched as Katsumi and Kokoro sprinted away from the chaos. Smiling softly at their escape, he ascension slowed as the law of gravity took hold. His body dropping to the ground as memories flashed through his mind.

Head snapping up, he snapped his right arm forward. Black streaks slamming into his body, the force increasing the speed of his fall, he eyed the black cloaked figures that jumped through the trees. His eyes meeting the black dots that were the eyes of their animal like porcelain masks. Hearing shouts of rage from his left, he eyed in bemusement as people sporting green flak jackets pointed at him. _'ANBU…Jounin's…Chunin's…'_ Dropping into the wasted clearing below, he flipped his body forward landing softly on his feet.

Hearing the results of a **Shunshin** **no Justu**, he turned to see a Bear masked ANBU steadied Mizuki's battered form with his shoulder. His white cloak forgone showing the grey flak jacket devoid of pockets like the Jounin's version. He sported a black sleeves shirt and black pants with metal arm guards and gloves with three shinobi pouches on their back-waist with a signature spiral tattoo on their shoulders. A thin sword strapped to his back.

_'…No matter how many I see it, it's unbelievable.'_ Letting Uzushiogakure fall…no search parties for scattered survivors, and yet they still wear their symbol proudly. The open field clearing had around a twenty meter radius of free space. While the ground was rocky ad uneven with several small uprooted plates of earth, it gave him a clearer view. Because in a moment of two, the surrounding trees was filled with Shinobi landing on their branches.

With him on one side and the Shinobi on the other side…wonder what this will develop into. Eyeing the surrounding Shinobi casually, he frowned in thought when none of them were assisting in the arrest of Mizuki. He was about to speak up when Bear gave Mizuki a small black pill. _'Chakra pill…'_ Eyes narrowing, a small grin made its way to his lips as a nearby black cloaked ANBU appeared in a swirl of leaves. The Forbidden Scroll clearly in his grasp. _'…ah…so that's how it is…'_

Seeing them speak, he frowned when he couldn't hear them due to the forty meter distance. Letting cold warmth flood his senses, his senses were heightened letting him pick up on what they were saying.

"—barely…got here ten minutes…ago…" Mizuki panted slightly. Taking a moment to calm down, he regained his breath as he pulled himself away from Bear's shoulders. Stumbling slightly, he continued. "…I arrived to see Namikaze Naruto with the Forbidden Scroll open in the field. He had two of my students tied up against a tree as he looked over it." Taking another calm breath, a look of distress was plastered on his face. "I tried to question him on what was going on, but he wouldn't tell. The two students, Namikaze Natsumi, and Tetsumi Kokoro were about to warn me off, but I had assured them that it was okay."

Turning to face him, Mizuki eyed Naruto with wariness. "I should have kept my guard up the moment I saw he had the scroll." He muttered. "He never went to the Academy, so a Civilian stealing the Forbidden Scroll should have had me on edge, but I was more worried about how he was able to subdue two Gennin level students without being dealt injury. This…destruction…" He said gesturing towards Naruto's handiwork. "…I don't know how, but he was able to manipulate wind. He destroyed the entire clearing and nearly killed me in the process. I managed to free Namikaze-san, and Tetsumi-san before that, but I'm afraid that if you hadn't saved me in time, then I would have been killed."

Ears twitching in annoyance, he wondered who the hell was going to believe such a poorly written tale. But judging by the look's he's been feeling through the surrounding Shinobi, he guessed that they did. Though he was relieved that a few of them were skeptical at best…that means they're was still hope for this foolish system. Really, a Shinobi being unable to detect a lie as preposterous as that… _'How sad…' _He thought shaking his head.

After a couple more seconds, Bear nodded and made some signs with his hands. _'Morse Code…?'_ After that, several more ANBU appeared into the clearing. At least five with the rest staying back…they all discarded their cloaks with their hands inching towards their swords.

Eyes drifting around the clearing, he frowned. Mister **Youth** was nowhere in sight. Hatake Kakashi was nowhere in sight either. Strange…humming in thought, he turned his attention back to Mizuki. He had long since had enough time to catch his breath, and was given the Forbidden Scroll.

Before he could even act though, black streaks stabbed into the ground in front of him. Eyeing the shuriken warily, he snapped his attention towards Bear and the surrounding ANBU.

"Namikaze Naruto!" Bear called out, his voice enforced through chakra. "You are to detain and desist, and will be brought into the T&I for interrogation. On count of you being the Yondaime's son, surrender peacefully before we use force."

Eye's drooping; he cracked his fingers and eyed the shuriken that hanged off his fingers. Mizuki was escaping. Akahime…Usagi-hime…Mizuki is aiming for them. He still lives. He knows about Cecilia-nee. Eyes drifting towards the Shinobi, his lips quirked to a frown… _'They're in the way.'_ He thought blankly. They'll never listen to him. They'll stop him from making chase.

Memories of blood flashing into the forefront of his mind, he decided. Eye's shifting to a demonic red, the phantasm of a blood red fox could be seen roaring behind his form. Its glorious nine tails thrashing as it bares its teeth at them before eliciting an air-splitting roar. A maelstrom of wind spiraling around his form, he glared at them balefully for getting in his way. Eye's flashing to a deep amethyst, the phantasmal fox parted open its mouth, the wind acting as its roar as the rocky earth around exploded sky-high.

* * *

_**(With Ashe)**_

* * *

Barking with laughter, Kurama grinned ferally as he eyed the scene below. Excitement coursing through his veins as the fight began. **"The kit knows how to have fun, that's for sure." **Ignoring the glare from his side, he erupted in deep throaty chuckles. **"Oh don't even start vixen, you love a good fight as much as your brothers."** Eyeing her with a vulpine grin, he laughed once more her glare intensified. **"It's just the concept of death that you hate!"** And that was just crazy to him. Who wouldn't want to have a battle filled with blood and gore!?

"I wouldn't for one." Ashe muttered under her breath. "…Your right all the same I suppose!" She admitted. "I'd blame my brothers, but then I'd be lying." A brief smile flickering on her lips, she stared at the scene moving along the water. "Feeling the adrenaline in a fight, the rushes of having your blood pumping through your veins as you fight without any restriction…"

Eyeing the small smile on Naruto's lips as he sped throughout the clearing, she frowned. "It's just the point of killing that I dislike. If there was a world where the Hero can change a person by smacking some sense into them, then I'd like to join the rumble. Why kill a good opponent when they can always get stronger and give you another blood-pumping fight?"

**"Because when they usually do, they aim to kill you and your entire family in the process."** Kurama deadpanned picking at the dirt under his claws.

"That's my point." She agreed wholeheartedly. "No one just fights for the sake of having a good fight anymore! It's always 'I don't like this' or 'I hate you guts'! I even remember someone starting a fight because they destroyed his bread! I mean, who the hell does that!?"

**"If I recall your older brother was responsible for that one."** The fox retorted in amusement. **"I even remember you twin destroying an entire battalion of Captains for ruining his fruit salad!"** Seeing her twitch uncomfortably, he grunted before turning back to the fight. _**'Though I have to agree with that boy on one thing,'**_Kurama thought idly. _**'A fruit salad is a salad when you just cut up random fruit and put it in a bowl with some chile powder.'**_ Now that's a fruit salad. **"Besides, didn't you do the same with the—"**

"Alright, I get it," Ashe exclaimed in a flustered tone before pouting. Glaring at the fox, she huffed before frowning. "…I wonder where the Naruto's parents are though. With chaos like this, it wouldn't be that hard to get here being how fast the man is." Looking closer, her frown deepened into a scowl. "Speaking of missing people, the Ero-Inu and Gejimayu aren't there either." Where are they?

* * *

_**Ah...for those who were waiting for some action to start. I hope this chapter was to your liking. Review and give me your opinions and inform me of any mistakes.**_


	10. Chapter 9

_**Ah...i do not own Naruto, but all original idea's are mine**_

_**Chapter 9**_

* * *

Landing softly on the roof of a building on the edge of the shopping district, a piercing shriek echoed into the sky quickly followed by an explosion. Eye's widening in surprise, he turned his head around to see a spiraling tornado of wind burrow into the forest. "Kushina," Turning around, he eyed as his wife landed right beside him for a moment and nodded.

Kushina had her hair pulled back into a ponytail with her bangs hanging freely by the sides of her cheeks. Her Konoha headband in place, she stood at a height of '5'04'' while wearing a green Jounin vest with a black high collared short sleeved shirt underneath and black shorts that stopped right below her knees with blue shinobi sandals. A blue bracelet wrapped around her left wrist.

Eyeing the destruction occurring far-off, her eyes twitched angrily as she saw sensed that battle occurring miles away. "Minato, after this is over, get you're Shinobi in line before I do it for you!" The fact that's she wasn't smiling proved how angry she was as a dark red aura began to seep from her skin. "But before that," Snapping her furious red eyes towards the Namikaze, she smiled a sickly sweet expression with her eyes glinting with death and pain. "Mind explaining why we're not searching for Sochi but for some irritatingly soon to be puddle?"

Chuckling softly, he nodded. "While I do want to go over there right now, I'm more worried about the person who divided these notes." He commented eyeing said note warily. Before his wife could comment on nothing being more important than their children's life**-one of which they had never even been part of-**he frowned. "If he was able to divide them throughout to the Shinobi of the entire village without anyone noticing…" Trailing off, he scowled.

"And you're thinking that this person might be the masked man who caused the Kyuubi Attack?" She asked skeptically.

Scowl dropping, he frowned in thought. "It's a possibility, but if not, then there's someone else just as dangerous," Eye's hardening, he turned towards the battle far away and stared. "And whoever or whatever they are, they're interested in our son for some reason. And it's **not** because of the Kyuubi either." He added shaking his head. Stopping for a moment, he turned and sighed before smiling softly.

"…Kushi-chan, why don't you go help out Naruto?" Seeing her smile, he grinned. "I'll come later to help after I deal with our mystery man." Feeling a pair of arms crushing his spine in a tight hug, he smiled dazedly as Kushina kissed him heavily on the lips before pulling back. A feral almost demonic glint in her eyes as she turned her attention to her son's direction.

"Thank you so much Mina-kun!" She said in sadistic glee. "I'll teach those pathetic excuses for Shinobi to harm my Sochi-ttebane!" And just as she was about to sprint in furious frenzy, an eerie laugh snapped her out of her temporary rage.

"Ara, are; aren't you just amusing little Uzumaki!" Snapping their heads towards the voice, they watched as a black cloaked figure appeared in a swirl of darkness. The voice no doubt being male and his eyes glints a mad crimson hue. He was about to speak, but he tilted his head to the side letting a three –pronged kunai pass through. The Namikaze from before all but gone, a flash of yellow appeared at the corner of his eyes and Minato slammed down a spiraling blue sphere of chakra down on him from above.

Instead of crashing the stranger into the roof, his Rasengan had simply sunk into his form. Eye's widening, the body below bulged immediately afterwards and Minato disappeared in a yellow flash. The stranger's body erupting in an explosion of blood that splattered across the roof. Frowning, he snapped his head around jabbing his Kunai at the stranger's temple only for that to disperse in blood as well.

"Ara, Ara; you're a bloodthirsty one!" His voice sang throughout the night. Reappearing at the edge of the roof, the cloaked man grinned in amusement. Before he could even say anything again though, golden chains spiraled out of the ground beneath him coiling tightly around his body. Eye's twitching, he simply chuckled. _'Stupid assassins,'_ He grumbled inwardly. _'Always kill first and talk later. Really, if I hadn't faced you countless times Fragment King then I would have just killed the entirety of this world for their cloak and dagger shit. And on another note, what kind of Shinobi rearranged the land while there at it!? Aren't they supposed to be—I'm ranting again aren't i?' _He sighed inwardly. Curse you Fragment King…wait, curses don't work against the jackass.

Eyeing the golden chains that constricted his form tight, he turned towards the two high-level shinobi with a fanged grin. Hearing the roar of wind and chaos behind him, he grinned wider. "It's a pity that I can't really view the fight!" He commented idly.

"What do you want with my Sochi?" Kushina asked bluntly. "Talk now and I might let you choose your form of death. Suffocation bye having your balls shoved down your throat with a side course of poisonous acidic induced magma or being torn limb from limb while becoming a woman in the process." She chirped happily. "You don't…well all you really need to know is that I'll require a rusty spoon and a rubber duck…along with some kittens and chipmunks…preferably rabid." She commented slowly thinking about her tools of torture.

Staring at her blankly, he turned to the Namikaze and pointed. "And you married THAT!" He didn't respond, but the slight red dusting his cheeks for a brief moment told him all I need to know. "Really, are all men ruled by their wives when married?" He muttered rhetorically.

"Pretty much," Kushina chirped. "Now…speak and die, or how 'bout you just die!"

As for Minato, he couldn't help but shiver inwardly at the maniacal gleam in his wife's eyes as she calmly proposed her forms of death to the stranger. _'Guess I know where Naruto got his knack for threatening people from,'_ "Kushi-chan, I still need him alive," Seeing her pout childishly, he sighed and pointed to the sound of resulting debris flying into the air. "Weren't you going to help Naruto?" In less than a second, the chains erupted from the ground and repeatedly slammed the stranger on the ground indenting the roof in the process

"Thank you for reminding me Mina-kun!" Nodding, she was about to head off in a maelstrom of rage and motherly fury, the splattered blood that littered the roof bubbled and shot towards the edges of the roof. Chain's erupting from her back, Kushina snapped out of it and raced forward in a furious sprint. Leaping forward into the air, the blood spiked up into the air rising higher and higher into the air.

Chains stabbing into the spikes, the chain's length decreased snapping her towards the barrier of bloody thorns. Just as she neared it, the chains retracted from the spikes and spiraled around her body forming a protective barrier. Twisting her body in a spin, dagger tipped golden chakra chains erupted from the palms of her hands. Gripping tightly onto them, they whipped around her body destroying the surrounding tendrils of blood that trailed after her.

The thorns of blood that littered the edges of the roof already reached several yards into the sky on all sides. Being tightly packed, there was little to no room to squeeze through much less see. But then again...eye's flashing red, a burst of bubbly red chakra trailed along the chains sharpening their edge as she broke through them with ease. Stopping her rotation, she craned her neck around to see the thorns rise up once again. Flipping forward, red chakra receding, her eyes returned to their normal violet color as she landed softly on the nearest tree branch in a crouch. Speeding forward, she headed towards the one destination in mind.

* * *

_**(With Minato)**_

* * *

"…you let her leave." It wasn't a question as much as it was a statement. Staring at the man, Minato frowned as he chuckled.

"I would be lying if I said I did though." Flashing his canines, the man clicked his tongue. "But then again, she wouldn't be much help to the boy as he is now!" Chuckling darkly, he disappeared in a swirl of darkness reappearing on the opposite end of the roof.

"Who said she'll be alone." Minato said gripping his three-pronged kunai.

"Who said I forgot about them." He retorted calmly. "Face it, with the path Naruto-boya is following," Eye's glinting dangerously, wisps of darkness spiraled around his arms. "It'll be a matter of time before he falls into the darkness, and it'll be all because of **you!**"

Minato didn't respond other than with the sharpening with his glacial cerulean eyes. Biting the tip of his thumb, he pulled out a scroll and spread its pages wide. "Not as long as I have anything to say about it!" Swiping his blood on its pages, the roof was showered with a multitude of three-pronged kunai's.

"Oh don't worry…" Eye's flashing; the man-made battle ground erupted in a wave of blood. "You'll never get the chance." And with that, the area became a storm of red and yellow.

* * *

_**(Several Miles Away—Central Shopping District)**_

* * *

"…Ah…bad doggies," A voice drawled lazily. Dark eyes looking throughout the shopping district, he stared at the army of funny looking dogs in mild interest.

He was a man that stood at a height of '5'09'' sporting the usual green flak jacket and blue body suit. Red spirals located on both sleeves, he has spiky silver hair and a face mask that covered the lower-portion of his face. His headband tilted to the left covering his right eye completely showing only his left eye. He wore strapped up sandals and armor-plated gloves, a familiar orange book in hand.

Eye's drifting towards it, he giggled perversely muttering things like 'Oh, Narumi you naughty girl you' and 'Natsuto, what a dirty mind you have you red-headed deviant'. Needless to say, he loved Jiraiya's new work of Icha-Icha Paradise: Forbidden Temptations very much. Almost as good as the one involving dear Minanu and lucky Kushito…almost, but it was a close second in his opinion.

"Kakashi, how Unyouthful of you to read such a thing during our glorious contest," A booming voice exclaimed loudly.

Swerving to the side, he continued to dodge flaming chain after chain. "…Hm, you say something?" He asked turning to the man in the green jumpsuit. The man was called Maito Gai, a fellow Jounin of Konohagakure who proclaimed him as his 'eternal rival'. Needless to say, he wasn't paying attention at the time.

The man stood at an impressive height of '6'00'' with a black bowl cut hair style and bushy thick eyebrows. He had high cheek bones and was well-built. The man wore orange leg warmers and the standard green flak jacket unzipped with his headband hanging around his waist like a belt. Standing sideways with his right fist forward and his left fist behind his waist, he stared at the Hellhounds with fire in his eyes. "These adorable puppies are in their spring time of YOUTH Hatake Kakashi! It is only fair that we give them the same respect." Hearing nothing, he turned around to see several of the Hellhounds dead on the ground around his eternal rival. Staring with his dark almost pupiless black eyes, a waterfall of tears streamed down his eyes. "CURSE YOUR HIPNESS AND COOLNESS. IF I DO NOT DEFEAT TWENTY OF THESE I WILL CLIMB UP THE HOKAGE MONUMENT WITH ONLY MY TEETH THREE-HUNDRED TIMES. IF I CAN'T EVEN DO THA—"Jumping back from snarling teeth, Gai twisted his wait lashing out a snarling dog's side with a round house kick slamming it across the street with a relit fire in his eyes. "YOSH; PREPARE FOR THE SPRING TIME OF YOOOUUUUGGGTTTTHHHHHH!"

* * *

_**(With Naruto)**_

* * *

Leaning against a tree, he nearly collapsed as the sound of Shinobi littered the forest. Sweat pouring down his skin in spades, he panted in exhaustion as he felt fatigue overwhelm his limbs. Slowly closing his eyes, he hummed in silence as cold warmth spread throughout his being. Nipping the tip of his tongue, he let—_"NARUTO,"_ Ashe shouted within his mind making him flinch.

_"Don't even try it!"_ She warned with a hiss. _"You're still too inexperienced with that move, and you already know what happened to the boy in the book when he attempted it!"_

_'…he lived.'_ He attempted weakly.

_"And almost destroyed his vocal cords in the process,"_ She retorted. _"If he was human, they wouldn't have healed at all!"_ Really, what the hell was her brother thinking letting beginners fight an Undead that strong to begin with?

Wincing at that, Naruto frowned but choked as a hand snapped at his neck from behind fingers coiling tightly around his neck. Eye's shifting behind, he glared at the Chameleon masked Anbu who faded into view before he felt his thumb jab at his jugular. Coughing out blood, Naruto stiffen for a moment before imploding in twister of slicing winds.

Reappearing several meters away on a random tree branch, he held his throat gently before shooting forward. Eyes darting around his surroundings, he dispersed in another blast of wind when a Jounin shot at him from above. The gust slamming him away while in mid-air before Naruto once again reappeared several meters away.

Eye's dimming from exhaustion, he shot forward once again. His form splitting into off into several directions as clones of himself ran off in random directions. Keeping on straight ahead, he sniffed the air a couple and frowned. Eye's narrowing, his form shot forward in a burst of speed leaping down straight towards the ground.

Flipping forward, he landed in a crouch and disappeared in another burst of speed. _'They're too many scents within the forest.'_ He muttered in annoyance. But-ear's twitching, the sound of exploding wind echoed into the forest. An explosion that was quickly followed by many others, his frown deepened into a scowl as flashes of their end appeared at the forefront of his mind.

**"They're no longer planning on capturing you kit,"** The fox voiced out his thoughts. Eye's flinching, an inferno of flames erupted several yards away. **"And I highly doubt that explosive note was thrown on accident."** Deep crimson eyes darkening, he chuckled. **"Face it and stop running; at the rate you're going, you'll never reach them if they keep on interfering!"**

_"As much as I loathe admitting it, my pet is right."_ Eye's flashing an icy blue, Ashe hummed in a whispery tune. _"Some if not a good number of them are fanatics that loathe fur ball here, and by sealing, you as well."_

Fingers cracking, she snorted. _"Add to the fact that they think you took the scroll, they already view it as an excuse to get rid of you."_

Keeping silent, Naruto simply increased his speed. His nose sniffing out the scent that was an odd mix of tiger and man, feeling the flash of another clones death, he silently hummed to himself in thought. **"You've killed plenty of civilians just for attacking you, but you avoided the Shinobi as best as you can."** Kurama noted with cold indifference. **"…what are you afraid of? You were prepared to kill that silver haired parasite, so what changed?"**

Muscles stiffening from exertion, he nearly slowed down at Kurama's question when the sound of sizzling caught his attention. Twisting his waist around, wind spiraled around his arm as he slashed at the kunai. The tag on it exploding on contact enveloping his world in an explosion of fiery orange flames, deep blue eyes flashed a demonic amethyst as a deafening roar making the forest tremble. The flames spiraling out of control as a vortex of wind forcefully fanned it into a raging inferno.

Deep amethyst eyes flashing angrily, the growing flames began to split off into several streams of burnt orange, traces of luminescent green protecting something within. As more Shinobi landed, their hands flickered through several hand signs shouting out **"Suiton: Shujinheki!"** A burst of water exploding from their lips rapidly formed a protective wall of water keeping the raging fire at bay.

In the midst of the spiraling flames, Naruto simply stared at the walls of water that surrounded him on all sides. The distance between them and him closes with every passing second. _'…it's not that anything's changed.'_ Naruto thought wearily. _'It's just that…it's just that they never really bothered me before all this.'_ Though he already knew how they felt since none of them never helped him in the past.

**"But you knew that they despised you all the same."** Kurama grunted.

Glaring at the giant fox, she felt Naruto stiffen and smiled softly. _"Not all of them hate you Fishcake,"_ Ashe chirped. _'There's that old monkey, and while retired, he's still a Shinobi! And let's not forget Ero-Inu and Gejimayu."_ Counting the number of people with her fingers, she smiled. _"There's also you're Ten-chan, and Gejimayu's little mini-me of his. You already know that the fate obsessed prick mealy thinks of you as a rival despite him not saying so. Why else would he continue to do his best in your spars with the boy?"_ Mind whirling, she was about to continue when realization slowly dawned upon her.

Keeping silent, Naruto simply watched the flickering flames ascend higher and higher into the sky. An unreadable expression clear in his eyes as Ashe spoke up with hesitation in her tone.

_"…That's it, isn't it?"_ She asked carefully. _"They're your friends…but you're scared what would become of that if you were to kill Konoha Shinobi…aren't you?"_ Hearing nothing in reply, she simply stared at the rising flames. The wind increasing its size as and ferocity as its range steadily decreased. But for just a moment, she thought she saw a flicker black instead of green.

**"Oi gaki,"** Kurama grunted annoyance coming to its limit. **"Just incinerate them and be done with it! With the time you're wasting, the parasite might as well have caught up to your mates already!"** Eyes darkening, his lips thinned back into a snarl. **"Whats more important; the lives of your precious people, or strangers that will attempt to kill you with prejudiced!?"** Tails swishing in annoyance, Kurama laid his head on his shoulders and closed his eyes. **"Choose."**

Eyeing the fox disapprovingly, Ashe sighed in reluctant agreement. _"Naruto…what I think that Kurama is trying to convey is that if Gejimayu and the others were truly your friends, then they'd understand the situation."_ Closing her eyes in thought, she continued. _"Shinobi live alongside the line of death, so dying is something that they're prepared for. But here's something that someone once told me a while ago."_ Closing her eyes, she recalled the words in full, a deeper male voice escaping through her lips.

Eye's widening slightly, Naruto watched as the image of a cloaked man came into the forefront of his mind. He was standing over a tower overlooking a village, his face covered by a hood keeping his face hidden.

**"Ashe…let me tell you something,"** He whispered softly. **"Having friends on both sides of the spectrum have its consequences. When on one side, and your dealing with the enemy on the other, do not think about what your friends on that side think of you. Think of the safety of your loved ones who are currently in danger. If they turn their back on you because of their beliefs, then they were never prepared to be your friend."** Waving his right arm over the village below, the man continued. **"Never be indecisive in your decisions, for an event you regret might come to truth. They may hate you, or they may not, but the point is, protect what you love without hesitation. Everyone is unique, if your hesitation leads to a friend's death when you yourself could prevent it, then you will carry that burden no matter where you go. They are mortal, and thus have one life. And when the life comes to an end…that will be it,"** And with that, the image slowly began to fade away. The man's last words echoed in his mind as the scene of flames entered his sight. **"Live your life without regrets, and though they may come to hate you, at least they are alive and well, and within that, might come another chance."**The last thing he saw being the flicker of kind amethyst eyes.

Thinking on that, Naruto only had one thing to say. _'Your friend's a ranter isn't he?'_ Feeling slight embarrassment coming from her, he gave her a low chuckle. Snapping his eyes wide open, the wind erupted in an explosive vortex of power. The flames raging forward high into the air in a geyser of fire that reached several yards in the air. Naruto only said one word. **"Burn,"**

As if on command, the tip of the geyser exploded outwards in a wave of burnt orange flames that quickly overtook the **Shujinheki** and bathed the land in a sea of flames. At the center of the chaos, Naruto was nowhere to be seen as the Shinobi attempted to put the fire out. After a couple minutes, they nearly put out the fire, but a shiver of dread slamming down into their stomach's just told them that they had just unknowingly ran straight into the flames of hell.

**"Hello boys!" **A sickly sweet voice echoed throughout the air. **"WHERE IS MY SON!?" **Then again, hell might be nice this time of year.

* * *

_**(With Natsumi)**_

* * *

Staring at the spiraling vortex of wind with disbelief in her eyes, she simply shook her head in confusion. "Okay, I just **know** Naruto had something to do with that!" But that begs the question…who the hell was he fighting? There is no way Mizuki-teme's that strong.

Turning away from the sight, she shook her head and leaned against a nearby tree. Turning her head to her left, she watched as Kokoro sat against another tree sweat dripping heavily against her skin. Wincing at the sight, she frowned. Koko-chan always had a weakest physique in the Academy. While she had a lot of chakra, she was the complete opposite from the kid that graduated last year. No matter how many time's she exercised, she never got any better throughout their years at the Academy.

_'I think his name was Rock Lee?'_ He had some sort of condition where he was unable to mold chakra, and was considered the dead last of the class. He barely managed to pass through Taijutsu alone through a recommendation from a Jounin. There was no such case this time.

Looking around, she stood back up and sighed. "Koko-chan; lets rest here a bit." Natsumi suggested. "There's no doubt that the stunt from before would catch everyone's attention, so it'll only be a matter of time till the other Shinobi come to help Naruto." Too bad she doesn't know that her brother's being attacked by said Shinobi.

Heart ramming against her chest, Kokoro slowly nodded. After a couple careful deep breaths of air, she pulled something out from her pocket. It was a small black cube similar to the others. After a couple seconds, she pressed the cube within both palms and her hands were covered in a light blue glow. Her chakra steadily seeping into the cube as it broke down and shifted into a small canteen rectangular canteen.

Twisting open the cap, she pressed it against her lips and chugged down icy cold water that stung the insides of her throat. Feeling familiar cold warmth spread through her form, she put down the canteen and swallowed. Her pale complexion gaining a bit of color back as her shaking stopped. Feeling someone's stare, she turned and tilted her head to the side in confusion resembling a small bunny. "…Yes Natsumi-san?"

Staring at her for a moment, she just waved it off. "Never mind," She muttered making the girl blink. "I think its best we rest for a bit before moving on." She repeated softly. "It's only a matter of time before the other Shinobi come and help Naruto and this entire fiasco will be done and over with." And after that, she can get some answers with a steaming hot bowl of ramen. The thought made her happy with relief.

"But…what if the…Shinobi decided…that Naruto…was the enemy?" Kokoro whispered slowly.

And her good mood was ruined. "Why would you think that?" Natsumi asked frowning. "They are under my Tou-san's command and they wouldn't harm his son and my brother!" She replied heatedly.

Wilting at that, Kokoro gave her a hesitant nod before taking another sip from her canteen. Feeling more of her strength come back, she frowned for a moment and pursed her lips. "Is it…true?" She asked after a moment.

Hearing another explosion, Natsumi looked over the tree's side to see another whirl of wind. "What is?"

"…What Mizuki-sensei…said?" Her silence was answer enough. Looking up, she frowned noting how stiff Natsumi was. "…Sorry," She whispered.

Listening to the sounds of the following explosions, she shook her head and gave her a sad laugh in response. "Don't know," She mumbled. "I hardly know anything about my brother to begin with, so who knows what might be true and what might be false." Heck, everything she's been told might have been a lie.

"Naruto…doesn't lie!" Kokoro said a bit strongly. Seeing Natsumi turn to her with a raised brow, Kokoro flushed at the attention she was getting. "…Naruto…never lies…" She repeated after a moment. "He hides things…within rhymes…but he never lies." Feeling her stare increase in tenacity, she blinked when Natsumi suddenly giggled.

"You might be right on that," Natsumi agreed with a smile. "My brother is just barely accepting me, so I guess I'll have to figure him out along the way!" Seeing her nod in agreement, Natsumi smiled in response. "Ah…by the way, you seem pretty bold by calling my brother by his first name." Grin turning mischievous, she took a step closer. "And without the san suffix as well…" Seeing her flush a bit, she nodded as if affirming something. "You're even following in rhymes as well!" Looks like someone's got an admirer!

Giggling, she got back to her feet and stretched her arms into the sky. And at that very moment, an explosion of raging flames erupted far away in the forest with a deafening roar. "Okay, now that is definitely Naruto's fault." She deadpanned bringing her arms down. "From what I've seen of the boy, he has too much of our Kaa-san's…unique humor. So it'd only be natural that he'd share her destructive tendencies." Let it be clear, that while she may look like her mother, she clearly act's like her father…with a bit of her mother's anger issues. But if asked, she will deny everything.

Hearing a soft giggle, she turned to see Koko-chan with some more color back to her skin. She no longer looked like a girl who was forced to run a ten mile marathon in under ten minutes. "That…contraption of yours is really useful." Natsumi commented with a bit of awe in her tone. Sniffing the air for a moment, she winkled her nose and smirked. "Though after this, we're both taking a bath…or more specifically you, to get rid of all this sweat." Seeing her blink in confusion before sniffing her sleeves, Natsumi nearly glomped her then and there if not for the sweat from how cute she looked. _'Naruto was right…she does look like a bunny.'_ Probably wouldn't be too hard for her to convince him to lend her a pair of rabbit ears and tail…though she would question on why he would have those if he did. A small giggle escaping her lips, she walked forward and helped Koko-chan to her feet.

Smiling softly, Kokoro took her hand and was gently pulled up. Patting herself down, her eyes flashed golden for but a moment as she took Natsumi by surprise by pulling her into a tight hug. A brief whistle escaping her lips as five black streaks shot down from the sky. The sound of **"Doton: Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu!" **And as if on cue, two hands burst out of the ground below coiling their fingers around Natsumi's and her ankle's. Before they were about to be dragged down though, the streaks slammed down in a spiraling motion around them causing a shock-wave of electricity to pass through the earth forcing the hands to let go.

Keeping a tight hold on Natsumi, Kokoro waited until the discharge of electricity dissipated before letting go. Turning away from Natsumi's stare, her cheeks it up a slight pink as she stared at the five black birds hopping on the ground. Dark blue lines trailing along their forms sparking yellow every now and then.

Staring at her, Natsumi simply shrugged. "Thanks Koko-chan!" She chirped not at all interested in what she did…just a little bit really. But a Shinobi has to have their secrets after all. Now then…eye's hardening, she sent a quick pulse of chakra into the air surrounding them. Turning around, she watched as the traitor walked out from behind a tree a couple meters away.

He was completely battered, but otherwise fine. And the second most important thing was that he was holding onto the Forbidden Scroll. "What did you do to Naruto?" She asked icily. The only way for Mizuki-teme to have gotten past him is by beating him, and from their earlier display that was not even possible. Though that begged to question on how strong her brother was to begin with.

As if on cue, giant waves of water rose up into the air smothering the smoldering flames on all sides. Watching as the flames were being pushed back, she turned back to Kokoro. A single thought playing through her head as she recalled what she said. "What did you do to Naruto Mizuki-teme!?" She erupted into a furious outburst. Her eye's flashing a furious crimson much to Mizuki's temporary shock.

Smirking, Mizuki pulled, he second Dai Shuriken from his back and laughed. "And to think that a child figured out something Konoha's famous **ANBU** couldn't!" Breaking out in another laugh, he grinned. "If you thought the Shinobi that heard the destruction would help the boy, then you're sorely mistaken. In fact, they're the ones out to kill the child viewing him as a traitor to their **beloved** village." He chuckled spitting the word village in disgust.

Tensing, Natsumi just stared in silence at the rising water far, far away. Koko-chan's question becoming all the more real the longer she thought about it. By her side, Kokoro could only watch and stare in worry. Naruto was strong, she knew that. So she can't count him out, but Natsumi seems to be acting strange when Mizuki-sensei confirmed what she asked not two minutes ago. Shaking her head, a thought came to mind and she acted.

Tugging at her sleeve, she frowned and pinched her, hard, to get her attention. Hearing her yelp, she frowned in disapprovement. "Naruto…promised that he would…wait in clearing…tomorrow." Seeing her look of confusion, Kokoro turned to the smoldering flames within the surrounding wall of water. "Naruto…does not lie…breaking promise mean's…he lie…" Turning back to Natsumi, she smiled softly. "Naruto…does not lie…"

Staring at her, she turned away and glared at Mizuki-teme. "How would you know that?" She asked bitterly. "You've only known him for a couple days." Wincing inwardly at her own words, she turned only to see Koko-chan nod in understanding.

Reaching into her pocket, Kokoro whistled a soft tune and the black birds acted. In a single moment, they shot off towards Mizuki shooting small blasts of electricity at him. "Naruto…reminds me of…someone." She admitted shyly gaining Natsumi's attention. "…He's not…exactly…the same…but if theirs…one thing they do…it's that…they never lie." Giving her one last look, Kokoro giggled. "And breaking promises…counts as a…lie,"

Staring at her, she smiled. "And Naruto can't lie…right!" She repeated with a soft grin mirrored by Koko-chan's own.

**"But that doesn't mean you can't!"** A dark voice roared. Before Kokoro could even react, Natsumi pushed her out of the way as the ground below her erupted in a flurry of chains. A Dai Shuriken tearing right through them before shattering, the force of the attack snapping Natsumi's body back into the air for a moment. Mizuki appeared out of nowhere slamming his fist right into her abdomen rocketing her to a tree back first splintering it.

Staring with shock filling her eyes, she eyed the strangely transformed Mizuki blankly. He was roughly a couple feet taller with his shoulders a bit broader and stronger. His body bulged with muscles matched by the arrogant smirk on his face.

Staring, her eyes flashed gold and five black streaks came back into view. Their bodies erupting into bursts of electricity, the first slammed right into Mizuki's side slamming him through a tree. Reaching into her pockets, she heard a groan and sighed in relief that Natsumi was okay before pulling out the canteen from before. Coating it with her chakra, she sprinted over towards Natsumi eyes periodically drifting towards the raging Mizuki. Her black crashing into his form from all sides as charges of electricity coursed through his veins.

Turning her attention back to Natsumi, she noted her slightly dazed state and frowned. _'Natsumi-san has no doubt taken harder hits…' _Pressing the tip of the canteen against her lips, "Drink…" was all she said before her friend nodded. Did the suppression seal's on her do more damage that she thought?

Nodding after a couple moments, Natsumi gulped down cool stinging water and shook her head snapping out of her dazed state. She simply stared at Koko-chan before the bunny pointed to the busy Mizuki-teme. Nodding, her eyes unknowingly flashed towards Mizuki's direction as she recalled what he did. "Thanks." Seeing her sprint forward chains erupting form the palms of her hands, Kokoro started working piecing together the cubes in her hand. Her hands glowing with a layer of chakra that steadily began to spread towards the cubes.

Keeping her eye on Mizuki-sensei, she began to whistle. The black birds responding to her sound as they all erupted in bursts of crackling electricity. Her fingers twiddled around with the cubes as the birds became nothing more than a streak of yellow to her eyes. Eye's flashing golden, the tune of her whistling changed the moment Natsumi came into sight.

* * *

_**(With Natsumi)**_

* * *

Slowing down to a stop, Natsumi watched as Mizuki continued to dodge the attacking birds. Smiling, crossed her fingers eyes twitching, annoyed that the teme continued to ignore her in favor for some lightning spewing birds. **"Kage bushin no Jutsu,"** She whispered finally catching the man's attention. Soon, the entire clearing had been covered in smoke with Mizuki at its center.

Eye's narrowing into thin slits; Mizuki removed his last Dai Shuriken on his back and scowled. Sending a careful amount of chakra to his ears, he gripped his weapon tighter as the sounds of electricity stopped. Does that mean the birds backed off? If so, what the hell were they and how did that failure get them? _'Hebi-sama would no doubt be interested in her.'_ He could always just sell the red one to Kumo…or Iwa. Whichever pay's better.

Shifting his feet, he tensed when he heard something piercing through the air. Spotting a streak of red, he lashed out with shuriken in hand to deflect a stab at his torso, slashing in front only to hit empty air. Sweat streaming down his cheek in concentration. He kept his eyes alert as he sprinted into the smoke. Ducking and dodging as red streaked in the air until he came into a small clearing devoid of smoke.

Turning around slashing in mid-air, he gazed into Natsumi's shocked cerulean blue eyes as the blade sliced along her torso. Blood spurting from the wound as her eyes glazed over, he grinned only to scowl when she disappeared in a cloud of smoke. _**'Kage Bushin,'**_ He grunted in annoyance. The same justu she used for the graduation exam.

Eyes sharpening, he watched as several more clones dropped down from the trees with calm calculating expressions. Their forms charging right at him with dagger tipped chakra chains, their hands gripping tightly onto the dagger part of it holding it like one would a kunai.

Eyes sharpening, he stayed in the clearing ducking, deflecting as well as attempting to return her strikes. Only to fail as Natsumi's only used that as a foot hold for her to attack with the other clones to escape being dispelled; jumping straight at him aiming from his blind spots and sometimes from right in front of him. Coming from the dark tree tops as well as in the midst of the trees, he simply watched in annoyance as Natsumi's strikes began to grow faster as well as unpredictable.

Frowning, he took a single step back as one of the clones charged forward. Just as she was about to stab his abdomen, he whispered **"Doton: Moguregakure no Justu."** And in a moment the ground underneath him turned to sand, and he disappeared straight below losing only a couple strands of hair. His form reappeared right behind the attacking clone stabbing it in the back with his shuriken dispelling it. He then vanished into the ground once more as several more clones dropped into the clearing.

Soon, the entire area was filled with smoke as Mizuki continued to pop clone after clone from behind. But after the seventh time, he reappeared behind his eighth one only to jump back in surprise when snapped its leg back slamming it into his abdomen pushing him back. The clone twisting its waist around before her wrist twitched throwing her weapon right at him.

Slashing at it with his shuriken, he shattered it only for a leg to slam against his side from behind. Growling in snapping irritation, he slashed at the clone dispersing it into smoke. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small vial in mid-turn throwing his Dai Shuriken right at the approaching clones forcing them to spread apart. Flicking off the cap, he drank the last of the red liquid within it and shattered the vial in his grip afterwards. His senses sharpening before he disappeared within the earth once more. His form appearing behind a clone that had dodged his shuriken, he snatched it in mid-air and tore right through it dispelling it.

Before any of the clones could react, Mizuki sprinted forward in a blur and started to wipe out the clones one after another without remorse and in the cruelest way possible. The entire clearing soon disappearing in a rising cloud of smoke as the traitor continued tearing down the Natsumi's faster than the clones could appear.

The permanent scowl on his face seemingly dissolving into a sadistic grin of glee, he continued to massacre the clones with apparent ease. Though as he destroyed the last clone, he couldn't help but feel dissatisfaction that he didn't make the real thing bleed. Hearing something stabbing in the air, he leaped to the side dodging an extending chakra chain that stabbed itself into the ground.

That was only the start as he soon found himself running away from a volley of chakra chains raining down around him. Swerving his body through the continuous fire of chakra constructs, he continued to slash at the closest ones only to watch as his Dai Shuriken rebound and crack against their surface. Confusion was clear in his eyes as he was able to break them easy enough before. Before he even had a chance to react, a shower of chains rained down from above stabbing into the ground. Each one missing him by inches but restricted his movements to small openings between the chains; all in all, he was within an interconnecting web of crimson.

Eye's sharpening, he growled as he weaved through the openings easily enough. Shinobi in general are able to move within tight spaces to surprise and assassinate their targets. Mizuki was no exception as he continued to dodge chain after chain that steadily trailed behind him. Twisting his waist, he flipped high into the air only to lurch forward, blood shooting from his lips as a streak of yellow and black crashed into his abdomen rebounding him back towards the ground. His form crashing roughly into several of the chains on his path to the dirt, he regained his senses and flipped in the air before landing softly in the air.

Hearing something click, he looked down to see small black cubes littering the ground underneath. His sandals accidently stepping on one causing it and the surrounding one's to spark yellow before detonating in an explosion of yellow electricity. His body flung back into the air from the force of the explosion only for it to jerk back as the same streak from before slammed into his side sending him spinning farther into the air.

The process repeating itself as several more streaks slammed into his sides continuously. The traitor's body lurching back and forth in the air while crashing into the chakra chains situated around the area. His senses numb, and his limbs stiff from the electrical blast from below. He never noticed the red streak that leaped along the chains through the smoke. Her cerulean blue eyes glinting icily as she joined in on the attack. A constant streak of black, yellow, and red rocketed into Mizuki from all sides throwing him about much faster in the air.

After a couple moments, Natsumi landed calmly on a chain link far below Mizuki-teme. The make-shift chakra daggers in her hand dripping with blood. She heard a faint whistle and smiled as the black birds swerved around in the sky before descending below Mizuki. Their forms sparking further in electricity as they shot straight above slamming right into Mizuki's body one after another forcing him higher and higher into the air. His body stopping just above the cloud of smoke in which Natsumi shot out of immediately afterwards before slamming her chakra filled knuckles right into Mizuki's abdomen shooting his straight down towards the ground. His body crashing through several of the chain links that suddenly snapped from their places whipping around the area in a wild frenzy. The black birds nearly ending their role as they shot down from above like lightning. Their forms then crashed into the traitors who continued to be tangled by the chakra chains slamming him into the ground.

A pillar of fire erupted far away at that exact moment blowing away the smoke with fever showing the ground below. The clearing below littered with dozens of black sparking cubes that were activated by the force of the Chunin and multitude of chains that crashed into the ground. Up above in the sky, she ignored the heat of the pillar of flames and squint her eyes watching the exploding maelstrom of electricity that screeched into the night below.

Electricity dying down moments later, she landed softly on the ground noting the streams and sparks of yellow that appeared occasionally on the earth. Turning her attention to the traitor, she found him charred, twitching, and unfortunately still alive. Scowling, she huffed and turned to look at the rising pillar of fire. "Naruto does realize we're in a forest…right?" She muttered irritably.

Hearing a small giggle, she grinned and turned around to meet a smiling Koko-chan. Natsumi seeing how peaceful she looked, how cute, how…normal and totally not filled with the current insanity that's been happening for the past dozen minutes. She did the one thing that had to be absolutely done. Disappearing in a blink, she pulled Koko-chan into a tight hug making her squeak in surprise. Letting go after a couple moments, she grinned before blinking.

"When did you get the Forbidden Scroll?" Really…how did she get the large scroll that was now conveniently not charred in her hands?

Shyly nodding, she let out a small whistle and the small black birds flew into sight. Staring, she nodded. Ah…well at least they won't get in trouble for destroying a scroll filled with extremely powerful and forbidden justu. She was not tempted what-so-ever to look inside and explore its contents. Not a bit. _'Koko-chan, why are you staring at me like that?'_ Feeling something in her hand, she giggled sheepishly and gave back the Forbidden Scroll making Kokoro shake her head in mild exasperation.

"Any-y…way…those birds of yours are really useful!" She commented not at all trying to change the subject…Koko-chan's stare is a bit unsettling now! "I didn't know you could make these things explode electricity either! How come you never used these in the Academy?" She asked in confusion. Even though she's physically weak, she could have passed with these things since they technically passed as Shinobi Tools.

Staring at her for a moment, Kokoro's smile dimmed a bit. "Shinobi…must have a…strong physique…to survive." She answered softly. "A tool…is a tool…and cannot always…be there…but the body…is something…that can and…will follow." Staring at the birds on the branches, she shook her head sadly. "…I failed because…I was weak…nothing can…change that…and I accept it."

Frowning softly, Natsumi shook her head. "Nope," She replied popping the 'p'. "From what I saw, you are not weak." Natsumi said in disagreement. "Even though you failed, you survived your first battle and acted calmly throughout the entire thing. Even when shocking truths had been revealed, you still kept your calm. That is not being weak, but what I call strong." She said placing her hands on her shoulders.

Staring at her calmly for a moment, her smile brightened just a bit. "Thank you…but…you faced Mizuki…and won while I…hid in the shadows."

Sighing in exasperation, Natsumi scowled. "Yeah…no," She shook her head in mild annoyance. "You're coming with me, and Naruto will tell you the exact same thing when we find him!" Motioning her forward, she frowned when she did not move.

"Naruto…does not lie…" Kokoro whispered. "But he…does not reveal…the whole truth…" Staring at her, she removed Natsumi's hands from her shoulders and shook her head.

Frowning, she took Koko-chan's hand and began to guide her forward. She couldn't help but wonder why she was downgrading herself like this.

Looking ahead, Kokoro's eyes flashed golden for but a moment and a sad smile appeared on her lips. "He does…not lie…he does not…break promises…" She whispered shyly. "…but…other's do."

Blinking, Natsumi turned to stare at Koko-chan only to freeze. Kokoro gliding right past her as the sound of shifting chains crackled throughout the clearing. Eye's widening, she turned around only to see Kokoro place her hands firmly on the center of her chest, a bright smile on her face as the black birds screeched a high shrill around them.

Just like that, an inhuman form shot up from the ground right behind Koko-chan with one arm raised. Before she could do anything to warn her, Kokoro immediately pushed her away. The arm ramming right into Koko-chan's side and nearly her own had she not been pushed away. She could only watch as her new friend flew through the air before tumbling across the ground several meters away before slamming into a tree.

**"KOKORO"**

* * *

_**Ah...I hope you liked the fight scene. It's been a while since the first one...so...yeah. Please review and tell me your opinions.**  
_


	11. Chapter 10

**_Ah...i don't own Naruto, but I own all and any original characters_**

_**Chapter 10**_

* * *

**"KOKORO,"** Shooting towards her friend, she eyed her motionless body with eye's filled with worry and fear. Crouching down next to the tree, she sat at her side placing her back first against the ground. Taking a look at her state, she cringed seeing how mangled her left arm looked. The area around the elbow looked as if it had been snapped in half. Panic filling her, she tore off her sleeve and found her arm to be a large purple and black bruise.

Staring at her face, she was just glad that the impact knocked her unconscious. NO, she isn't happy that her friends unconscious! She was turning a couple shades paler. Pressing her fingers against the side of her throat, she sighed in relief that there was still a pulse. Placing her hands down on the ground below, she stiffened when it was not warm grass she felt.

Looking down, she eyed the small puddle of blood that escaped from a tear within her shirt. A large gash showed underneath making Natsumi feel sick at the sight. Hearing a rumbling laughter, she stopped. Turning around almost robotically, she stared at the **thing** that attacked Koko-chan.

While it had Mizuki-teme's hair, it looked like a bipedal muscle bound behemoth of a tiger. Black stripes littering his body with two orange ears popping out of his hair. His torso and hands had pale white fur while the rest was an orange color. It was Mizuki…but to Natsumi, that didn't matter.

What did matter was that her friend was injured. What mattered is that Kokoro knew that he was going to attack. What mattered was that she took the hit for her. What mattered was that she didn't finish him off when she had the chance. What does matter…**is that she wants him dead!**

Eye's taking a crimson hue, the tips of her hair spiked. Her eyes slitting as her canines and nails sharpened to a tip. Power burning through her systems, she felt her vision turn red. Before she could even react though, a hand slammed into her throat before crashing her into the tree. The force of it making her lose thought for a moment as the sudden boost of power slipped through her fingers. Mizuki-teme's clawed fingers prickling at her neck.

Hands grabbing at the hand, she glared down weakly as Mizuki-teme held her up high into the air. His hand tightening around her throat with each and every passing second, he erupted in low guttural laughter. **"The failure was right!" **Mizuki laughed darkly. **"If you oh so believe that the demon brat cannot lie, then it wouldn't matter because you whores do!"** Grinning ferally, Mizuki grinned as he slammed her back into the tree behind her. **"Breaking a promise huh, how dishonorable for a child of the famous Yondaime!"** He laughed sarcastically.

Glaring at him, her eyes flashed red, her grip around the man's hand tightening. Mizuki-teme slammed her harder into the tree. **"Oops, my hand slipped!"** He laughed. He loved the rush of power that was coursing through his veins. If he had this much power, even the Namikaze wouldn't stand against him. **"Wouldn't want you to use you demonic chakra after all,"** Nose twitching, he looked down staring at the puddle of blood beneath his feet. Grinning, he slammed his foot into the failures side forcing her away tumbling against the ground before stopping a couple meters away. Feeling the familiar scent and feel of the burning, corrupted chakra of the Kyuubi, he turned and was about to slam the girl right through the tree when he noticed that she was gone from his grip.

…Wait…where was his arm? Blinking, he stared at the bloodless stump he had for a shoulder and looked down. His arm landing softly in the puddle below with a splash, he blinked again as the pain finally hit. Roaring in pain, he clutched at the stump he had for a shoulder as blood began squirting out of it. Trying to stop the blood from flowing, he tensed his muscles and watched as the blood was forcefully stopped. Gritting his teeth in pain, a familiar scent filled his nostrils and he jerked his head around in surprise.

Staring at Usagi-chan's motionless form, blood spilling from her sides, he could only stare in empty silence. Facing the Aka-chan, he eyed the large purple handprint plastered around her neck. _'Ah…Ashe…'_ She didn't reply, but as he dropped to his knees, he placed his right hand around Natsumi's collar bone, and his left on Kokoro's injured side.

Eye's flashing a deep blood red shade, the bangs framing the side of his face lightened to a pale blonde almost snow white color. As frosting warmth seeped into his skin, his fingers began to shine a golden white glow. The energy slowly seeping into their wounds, his eye's returned to their normal blue several moments later. A blood red tint to his cerulean blue eyes was seen, and his side bangs didn't return to their natural blonde state. _'Thank you Ashe…'_ He felt apologetic gratitude in response.

Staring at their still forms, he bent down and carefully picked them up. Cradling them with both arms, he stood back up on his feet without any visible strain. Tilting his head slightly, he turned towards Mizuki and watched as he forced himself on his feet. His expression filled with mixtures of pain and rage. Naruto simply stared for a couple moments and walked away.

Claws extending, Mizuki snarled and bit back a wave of pain as he watched the demon brat walk away. Muscles tensing, he grits his fangs and glared at the brat in utmost hatred. The demon appeared out of nowhere and cut off his arm, and then grabs his girls and walks away. **"Oi…where the hell…do you think you're going…KYUUBI!?" **He roared. Even then the brat didn't turn to him. Even as he exploded in literal chakra that cracked the earth, the brat still ignored him.

Slowly getting back to his feet, rage and adrenaline numbing the pain, he roared. A small shock-wave shook the trees before he sprints forward in a blur claws outstretched. **"DON'T YOU DARE IGNORE ME KYUUBI!"** Slashing down at the demons unguarded back, the next thing he saw was blank cerulean blues before his arm spun in the air. His body swerving to the side from the sudden shift of balance, the shock of losing his other arm caused him to tumble along the ground.

Staring at the fallen Mizuki, Naruto simply shrugged in boredom as he returned to walking. His eyes slowly drifting towards the two unconscious girls in his arms, he smiled. The ugly bruise that marred Aka-chan's neck had vanished leaving smooth clear skin. Usagi-chan's side was no longer bleeding, and he was slightly tempted to run his fingers along her bare side just to find out her reaction. Chuckling inwardly, he stopped, all emotion draining from his face as he heard the sound of shifting feet.

Turning around, his eyes narrowed as a stream of blood spilled to the ground below. Mizuki standing panting with eyes filled with feral rage and insanity. "…what…your still there?" He asked with genuine confusion in his bland tone. Why isn't he dead? Eyeing the large puddle of blood under him, he hummed in thought. Loosing that amount of blood would kill anyone, so…why is he still standing?

_'…why is he still looking at me with those accursed eyes?'_ Staring at him with a blank expression, he looked down at the girls and eyed the spots where Mizuki had injured them. Despite Kokoro's wound being healed, everything around it was still surrounded in her blood. Blood that should not have been spilt…and the bruise that formed around Natsumi's neck brought back unpleasant memories. And that wasn't her only injury. Right behind her head, there was blood dripping. Her shoulders were shifted, no doubt from being attacked. _'…Ashe…if you would…'_

Deep in the recesses of his mind, said woman stared silently at the scene in front of her. After a couple moments of thought…she shook her head declining. "Naruto…while I would normally agree, you know that this only happened because of your attitude." She had already healed their injuries, and Naruto needs to learn not to play with his food. "No matter the enemy, you should never underestimate what they can and can't do. All it takes is a single mistake…one single mistake, and that could very well be the end." His mistake was that he didn't kill Mizuki the moment he saw him. And for that, his friends paid the price.

Frowning softly, he hummed in thought to her words. Yes…is a way she is right. He was playing around with the bug. Arrogance…something he'd never thought would be associated with him. No…not arrogance…he supposed that he just didn't see him as a threat.

Walking to the side, he placed them softly against the trunk of a tree right beside the other. Ears twitching, he looked up to see five black birds staring at him from their perch. Their beady red eyes gazing at him for a moment, they sparked yellow. _'Ah…so even with her unconscious…'_ Turning back, he eyed the bipedal tiger with eyes filled with contempt. A gaze that was quickly matched by Mizuki who's form started to spasm every couple moments.

"…You call me a demon…" He whispered airily. "But if that was the case…what does that make you?"

Rage increasing at those words, Mizuki bared his fangs as whatever sense of sanity left his eyes. Oh how he hated those eyes. Blood popping, he charges forward teeth bared intent on ripping out the demons throat. But the brat continued to move just out of his reach. His accursed blue eyes staring right into his own, never breaking contact as he continued to snap at him with his jaws. Those very eyes that looked at him as if he was nothing, as if he wasn't even there, AS IF HE DIDN'T EVEN EXIST! **"KYUUUBBBIIII," **He roared lunging forward in feral insanity.

Gliding back a couple meters, Naruto calmly moved away from the Mizu—no, it was no better than an animal at this point. Suppose this was the man's price for power. "…But…your debt has yet to be filled," He had injured what was his. He had made them feel pain. He had attacked. He had hurt. He made them bleed. His debt for such things is far from being paid in full. "…I would be curious as to how you gained this form…" Vanishing from existence, Mizuki halted his movement as a gentle breeze blew past his fur…a silent whisper ringing in his ears. **"…but your living on borrowed time as is."** A stringing flurry of sounds trailing right behind as his body exploded in a flurry of blood. Large gashes littering his body as he dropped to his knees. The life in his eyes dimming to a starch white as he fell forward, the most prominent of the wounds being the clean gaping wound in the center of his chest.

Standing right behind the corpse, Naruto stared blankly at the black pumping heart resting in his palm. "People say that a life should be paid for a life…" He commented to the corpse. "But I find that entirely foolish. After all," Turning to face the corpse on the ground, he hummed in silent thought. "What use is a life is the one using it isn't exactly living?" Leaving him with that silent question, he crushed the heart between his fingers before shredding its remains in a flurry of wind.

Swiping the blood off his hand, he turned to the sleeping girls with a smile on his face. Walking over to them, he felt relief and joy that they were safe. The closer he got, he noted the Forbidden Scroll clutched in Usagi-chan's arms. Eye's narrowing, he frowned. So much trouble just for a fake, snapping his fingers, the scroll dispersed in a soft gentle breeze. The wind elicited a small twitch from its previous holder bring a smile back to his face.

_"Naruto," _Ashe said. _"You mind if I ask you a question?"_

_'Yes Ashe,'_ Hmm, curious. Wonder what's on her mind?

_"Do you ever feel anything when taking a life?"_ She asked in a subdued tone.

…Ah…_'If I told you I do, would you be surprised?'_ He replied with a question in kind.

_"Not really." _Smiling, she sent a smug grin towards a disgruntled fox. But for some reason, she didn't really like the gleam in his eyes. _"Anyway, I think you need to think of something fast. With Mizuki dead and you currently on the run…"_ Trailing off, she nodded in thought.

Confused, he simply shook his head. Of course he would feel something when killing. After all, killing is a simple waste. Shrugging, he simply turned towards Aka-chan and Usagi-chan only to stop. "Ah…curious…curious indeed…" He mumbled. "…If I was a scientist, I would want to find out why…but, I'm not." Eye's narrowing to slits; he turned around with a frown marring his face. **"How are you still alive?"**

Staring at the motionless corpse with confusion, his frown deepened. A single twitch was all he needed, and a dozen was what he saw in the next few moments. That was only the start of it all. Eye's slowly widening, he gaped as the wounds littering the corpses body began to shift. Flesh that had been obliterated by his wind reappearing through its masses, he watched the regeneration with morbid fascination before vanishing forward into the air. His body twisting in the air as he reappeared right above the rejuvenating carcass, cold warmth filling his being as the wind gathered around his legs. He slashed downwards releasing blades of wind with each spin. His thoughts being too late to hear Ashe's exclamation to stop, he stared down at the corpse that was soon in pieces.

Frowning, he scowled as the regeneration didn't stop, but seemed to have increased in speed. And just as he was about to slam down on it, it exploded covering the area around it in an aura of black mist throwing him back along the air. Flipping back, he landed feet first skidding on the ground. Looking forward, he jerked his torso back dodging an obsidian clawed limb overhead before kicking up with his legs slamming into what he assumed to be its torso pressing his hands on the ground before the attack his bringing more force. Feeling it shift, but not move, his eyes widen as something tightly gripped his ankles before jerking him into the air and slamming him across the clearing right into a tree cratering it.

Regaining his bearings, he jerked his head to the sides letting a familiar clawed hand destroy the remaining support the tree had before falling. Biting the tip of his tongue, he let out a feral roar that echoed throughout the clearing making the being flinch. In that moment, he vanished in a blink reappearing far away from the beast on the other side of the clearing. Whatever it was, it was probably the result of whatever happened to Mizuki's corpse. But what it looked like exactly, he couldn't tell with the ever-shifting cloud of black mist covering the majority of its body. The only possible thing being its sickly golden seven pentagram shaped eyes.

But before he could ask Ashe about it, it regained its bearings and sprinted forward in a trail of black shadows. Vanishing in a trail of wind, specks of black and green flashed throughout the entire clearing. Bits and pieces of red dripping to the ground with each clash, roar's echoed throughout the forest and golden and cerulean flashed. Flashes and streaks of blond and black, strips and pieces blood, the world around them became a blur as the streaks continued their clashes within the trees. Branches snapping, and barks cracking, the force of each contact rumbled the tree's themselves as flickers of the combatant's flashes here and there.

Pupiless cerulean blue's widening, a flash of green shot through the air burrowing in the earth, Naruto's form rebounding against the ground he flipped back skidding along the ground. Small nicks and cuts littering his form, he leaped back in the air as a streak of black slammed into his recently vacated spot. Flipping back in the air, he landed feet first in a crouch against the center of a tree splintering it. Eye's flickering towards the prone bodies of his friends; they flickered towards the motionless black birds before he shot off in a streak of green. The beast slashing right through that tree not a moment after before jerking its head towards his direction.

A fist slamming right into its face snapping it back, but that was only the beginning as it felt fingers stab straight into its shoulders. Pulling himself up in the air, he flipped himself over the beast's body twisting his around before retracting his fingers from the things shoulders arms snapping forward. He gripped tightly onto the back of its shoulders stabbing his fingers in deep before slamming his knee's right in the center of its spine snapping its torso back. Pulling its shoulders back, he crashed the tip of his feet into the back of what he assumed to be its knee's kicking its feet out from under it.

Seeing it twitch, he snapped open his mouth and an ear splitting wail pierced through the night making it stiffen and roar in pain. Lying straight in the air with him under, he pulled back his knees and let go of its shoulders. Pulling back his torso, he slammed his hands straight on the ground before crashing his legs right into the beast's spine. A burst of wind shooting it high into the sky with Naruto dropping back in a crouch on the tip of his toes, he shot forward in the air slamming right into its back once more forcing it higher in the air and into the canopy of treetops.

Landing softly on a nearby branch, he shot forward trailing right behind the beast into the treetops. Landing on a nearby branch, his attention snapped forward to the beast a couple feet above. Wind coiling around his arms, he shot forward slashing mi-air. Landing on the trunk of a tree in a crouch, a squirt of blood erupted from the beasts back. Shooting forward once again, blood erupted from its side as he landed on another branch past it.

As it continued to reach higher in the sky, Naruto trailed behind it shooting from branch to branch. Blood erupting from the beasts side with each streak a green that lingered in the air. Shooting from branch to branch, Naruto attacked from all sides. Blood raining towards the ground below as he continued his onslaught, he slowed down his approach when the beast's ascension began to stop.

Flipping back, he landed softly in a crouch before shooting up high into the air. Both his and its form emerging from the treetops, they began stopping several meters above the sea of green leaves. Rising centimeters above it, he twisted his waist around and slammed his knee into its back. Before it could even rise, he slammed his elbow down on its abdomen keeping his knee placed firmly against its spine. Parting open his lips, a silent shriek of wind pierced through the night as he twisted his body back in a full three-sixty degree spin lying flatly below its back in the process. Twisting his body once more in a spin, he slammed his right leg into its stomach when it began to fall. Lips still parted, he watched as the body twitched but hooked his leg around its waist so it wouldn't fall further.

The beast was still human in shape, so he brought it closer before spinning his body around in the air. His hands snapping forward as he rained down blows around its torso back and front during the three-sixty spin. After gaining enough momentum, he went for one final spin and unhooked his leg before lashing out at it with his left sending it shooting straight towards the ground like a black bullet.

Suspended in the air, he thought it strange that Ashe didn't comment on it. It certainly wasn't normal, and it had a rather dark feel to it, so he couldn't help but wonder. The way she sounded when she wanted him to halt his attack, it sounded desperate, shocked, and for a moment, he thought he found a small hint of fear in it. He hasn't heard from her since, but as he descended towards the treetops, he pushed his torso forward leaving him dropping face first towards the ground.

Wind gathering around him, he kicked against the air shooting down in a shock-wave of air. His body instantly slamming right into the falling body of the beast shooting it even faster towards the ground, but stopped his descent in the process. Wind gathering once more around his arms, he slashed at the nearby branches and positioned them around his body as he continued to fall towards the ground.

As gravity's law finally affected him again, he started spinning his body in a full three hundred sixty degree spin. His arms snapped down branches like javelins as they impaled the falling body below with such force that it twisted its body in the air. That was the first, but then there was a second…and a third, fourth, fifth, and seven branches afterwards throw down like javelins. When the body slammed down towards the ground crumbling its already cracked surface, its body was impaled by branches from all sides. By all rights, it should be dead from how it looks, but no. He wasn't done yet. He was far from dead.

Kicking against the air, he shot down towards the ground flipping over feet first. His legs landing roughly on one of the branches that interconnected with all the others. The moment he landed, it bent slightly causing all the other branches to tear out of its body like whips ripping its body into pieces. Staring at its odd sickly golden eyes, he parted his lips further taking a deep breath of air through his nose. In but a moment, when his feet slammed directly into its torso, its head jerked forward lips spewing blood and jaws wide open. Noting the odd hovering black sphere, his eye's widened when the surrounding mist surrounded it.

Breathing as much as he could with the time he had, he exhaled the moment the sphere shifted. They both fired their respective shots and the world around them exploding in a blanket of darkness that sounded with a single echoing roar of wind and sound. When the blackness seeped away into streams of darkness that dissipated in the air, the devastation in the area was clear as day. The ground crumbled and cracked, the tree's pushed outwards out of their roots, wisps of wind and darkness lingering in the air, and near the center of it, cerulean blue eyes snapped open.

Groaning in annoyance, he winced as he placed his hand face down against the ground falling forward. Humming with unknown silence, he calmed down a couple moments before attempting to get back up. Muscles tensing in protest, he forced himself to sit up in a couple seconds not at all bothered by the numbing pain. Looking around, he noted with a small smile that he couldn't find his girls anywhere in the area. Blinking for a moment, he thought back to what he just thought and simply shrugged. In a sense, they were his. Aka-chan was his…sister, and Usagi-chan was his friend.

The black birds weren't in the area, and he didn't smell any of their blood…well, fresh blood anyway. So that mean the flying rats did something useful for once and got them out of harm's way. He'll have to remember not to skin them on sight next time. After a couple seconds filled with amusement, he looked down to himself and found himself littered with cuts and gashes, but nothing too deep. _'Ah…strange,'_ He mumbled inwardly.

He was weakened, that was sure, but nothing bad enough to stop him from moving…fighting at his best is another story however. Whatever had kept him safe stopped his body from getting most of the damage. He wasted too much energy trying to counteract the beasts Bijuudama like attack. If it was anything like the real thing, then the blast would have incinerated his body on the spot along with one-fourth of the village. **"You're damn right it would kit."** Smiling at the familiar grunt of annoyance, he nodded. It was far too weak though, but the destruction around him proved that it was dangerous none the less.

_'Ashe, if you're there, please tell me what the hell just happened?'_ He asked bluntly. His sister's supposedly dead teacher**-who he killed-**had just come back from the dead who knows how many times stronger than before. He even noted that it had arms…arms that he had sliced off with his own wind.

He didn't hear anything in response, but after a couple moments, a static like sound started sounding in his mind. It was annoying at first, but as time passed, it became clearer as the words _'—YOU STUPID LITTLE—'_And he promptly cut off the link with a snap. Yeah, she was probably mad. The fact that he just heard something break just now means that…wait…is anything in his head supposed to be broken!?

_"Not really!"_ And the connection was back. _"But you're going to wish something was broken when I'm through with you!"_ She muttered irritably. _"I mean c'mon, fighting a Fragment of all things, albeit a weak one, it's still a Fragment none the less!"_ Really, does her host have to fight every kind of being on and before the planets birth?

_'Not really,'_ He muttered dryly at that last thought. _'But what do you mean by Fragment? Any idea what it is and how Mizuki came to be one?_ Because if it's something that keeps the normally joking Ashe from acting psychotic then it's defiantly something to worry about. He learned that lesson when he tried to break Gejimayu's and Rock's Eternal Sunset.

Blinking, she stared for a moment and sighed wearily. _"I could go on and on about what a Fragment is, but right now, I'm more worried about how Mizuki even __**became **__one to begin with."_ The only one capable of turning one thing into another species isn't even in this dimension.

Frowning in thought, an idea came to mind and he pulled out a small vial from his pocket. _'You think this has anything to do with it?'_

Staring at the vial for a moment, she snapped her fingers and the vial disappeared in a flash of white from Naruto's hands and into her own. Fingering it for a moment, she scowled. _"Not sure about that Fishcake, but I'll look into it."_ She'll ask on how he got it later. _"And F.Y.I., Fragments generally have High-Speed Regeneration."_ And with that, the connection was cut.

Blinking, after registering what she just said, he hummed in annoyance as an ear-splitting roar shook the forest. Rubbing his ears, he eyed the figure rising from the rubble humming in thought. It no longer had that misty black shroud to cover most of its appearance anymore. And whatever resemblance it had to Mizuki had all but been wiped clean.

Honestly, it looked more like a full-blown tiger than anything else. There were only minor differences. It had black armor plated skin and fiery orange flames that replaced its small strands of fur with black that replaced the stripes. Stone white claws. The seven-pointed pentagram pupils with black sclera with dagger size teeth and a single silver and black flowing tail of fire. It stood on its hind legs reaching a height of '8'06'' with its hands being human like while the fingers were nothing more than obsidian claws with its feet being clawed paws. Its silver hair had all but been replaced with a trail of white fire with a hint of blue.

_'…Ah…is this supposed to be normal.'_ It was a rhetorical question, but he was answered anyway.

**"Not really,"** Kurama snorted. **"It's too weak to be anywhere close to the original, but it's too much for you to fight alone as is."**

_'Am I really that weak?'_ He commented after a moment.

**"Yes, but I can admit that your definitely stronger than most of those earlier bugs that called themselves Shinobi when it comes to a real fight."** Was Kurama…complimenting him? **"A trait you annoying gnats called Uzumaki's have in common. I swear that insect Tsu-Teme put your clan there just to annoy the fuck out of me…or to get back at me replacing all of his porno with yaoi portraying his uncles and yuri portraying his sisters as models."** Grunting in amusement, he cackled darkly in remembrance at such a glorious prank. **"The jack-ass truly believed that he was reading his regular series when he was watching his family all along hidden with carefully intricate illusions. Made to dispel when it got to the good part at the exact moment it would reach maximum effect of horror."** Not to mention the fact that said sisters caught him watching it right at the moment as well. A glorious prank indeed!

Raising a brow at that, Naruto hummed in bemusement as the fox went off in his own little world…a world that he'd no doubt find interesting but rather not be a part of for the sake of what remained of his sanity. Ignoring the snort of disbelief, he stared hard at the…whatever it is shall he call the beast. Torazuki…? A mixture of both Tora which means tiger and Mizuki who the original form belonged to.

Slowly getting back to his feet, he kept his eyes on…Torazuki and frowned. It wasn't doing anything yet, only staring. Mizuki's first two forms had been relatively easy to beat. The third one, the shadow form was a relatively harder, but was beaten as well due to its animalistic thinking. Even without staring at it straight in the eyes, he knew it was dead, but at the same time, alive. Frowning, he stood at full height and stared skeptically at the being, and when it looked into his eyes. His body lurched forward abruptly as a leg slammed into his stomach. A fist coming down from above slammed him straight into the ground below.

Claws gripping tightly into its prey's skull, Torazuki lifted the boy up into the air. Tilting its head to the side curiously, its eyes narrowed as the child's unfocused eyes glared at him through the openings between its fingers.

…Such empty eyes the child had. Such a soulless being that walked this earth…oh what could be the cause of such a thing, it wondered with a curl of its lips. Such hatred…no, not hatred…it was something far more dangerous than such a petty emotion.

…Longing…desperation…a distortion had somehow formed in the child's psyche. How it came to be, it did not know, but armed with things such as longing and desperation…the ending would only result in tragedy. Tightening its grip on this child, its mild twitched in annoyance.

Holding back a snarl, it tightened its grip on the child's skull. His annoyance of a host was dead. Such a despicable parasite the fool was. Arrogant…prideful…filled with loathing…it was no doubt a miracle that such an insect managed to bring a being such as him into existence. Feeling its grip on the boy's skull slacken, it narrowed its eyes in surprise as the child's form dispersed in a flurry of winds. The threads of air whipped against its armored hand, yet doing no harm to its body.

…The child was weak…he was still too weak. But that will not stay the same for long. The child will grow, he will fight, he will see, but he will not truly live. He has no purpose. He has no goal. The boy is just an empty fragile shell waiting to be filled. A shell filled with oh so many cracks, and oh so many holes. That once the goal had been completed, the child will return to his empty state of mind.

He had once met a man with similar eyes…only his was filled with purpose, yet only chose the path with the most destruction. To save is to kill. And to kill is to save…that was the man's motto. Ear's twitching, it turned around its behemoth of a body and stared at the child that appeared in a gust of wind on the other end. _**'…That man…he to, could guide the earth's whispers…'**_ Meeting the child's eye's once more, it watched as the white of his left eye be invaded by an inky black. His empty blue eye flashing a raging inferno of red, it frowned when a dark, almost demonic presence overwhelmed the boy's own.

From his host's memories, the child has a remnant of The Grey One sealed in him, the strongest of the nine, but only without its power. There was another remnant in the child, a pure one, but something completely different from the fox. They were strong, but in the end, they were not the one. Eyeing the child in curious thought, it pondered as the presence had all but vanished. It belonged solely to the boy alone…yet it felt as if it didn't.

A single side to a coin, the man had said, is always parallel to its other. But at the same time, the differences are so abstract that they are truly never the same. The Grey One was a puzzle to it, an endless puzzle that had no end. A dangerous puzzle, but a simple puzzle none the less. And like all puzzles…they are meant to be solved.

Claw's flexing, it vanished from sight. Its form reappearing right behind the child slashing down into his back, only to narrow its eyes as the boy dispersed in another flurry of wind. Naruto…that was the child's name…a child with only a name, and nothing else to it. Ear's twitching, it disappeared once again only to slash down at the spot several meters away. The boy, Naruto, reappeared right at that spot only to vanish when its claws pierced through, the earth beneath scattering in contact as its thoughts steadily continued on the puzzle that was the child.

Turning its head with a short tilt, it eyed the copies parallel to the child swerve around the clearing around them. His eye's cold and hard, but ever so empty inside. The hatred it experienced when its host taunted the child. It to, was without form. Without purpose, hatred given only to its feel, but not really directed at anything. Such a broken child…such a purposeless being…it only eyed the child, not with pity, but with remembrance. For in the end, the child will die.

Taking in a deep steady breath, it closed and slowly opened its eyes in only a moment. Parting open its lips, an earth-shattering roar erupted. The clearing itself being flattened by its initial power while the tree's beyond were felled by its force. The child shooting back in the air had the sense to clamp his ear's shut in attempt to block out the sound. It was a careful move, but unnecessary as it halted its roar and disappeared. Its form reappeared right above the child stabbing its clawed hand down towards his heart.

It would be quick. It would be painless. But it would not stop the guilt. The guilt of ending a child's life before it could truly begin. The guilt of halting's the child potential for growth when he could be great. But most of all, to end the life of a child, who had never truly started his life, was one that would weigh most heavily on its mind.

Just as its claw was about to pierce flesh, a blood red chain of energy snapped the child away. Frowning slightly, it twisted its waist snapping out at the boy's body with its right leg. A snap sounding through the night, it felt its claws dig into flesh splattering blood before the child escaped its reach. Landing softly on its paws, it turned around eyeing the scene in front. Its eyes widening only a fraction as it eyed the blood soaked broken left arm that belonged to the boy.

The boy…he managed to twist his form around leaving his arm with most of the damage. Even when disoriented from its earlier roar, he still managed to counter. Tracing its side, it stared at the red liquid that dripped off its claws. Blood…the boy was dangerous. Looking back towards the child, its attention slowly drifted towards his two companions…interesting…both a doll…a broken being…and an anomaly all in one place, together.

What the fates have in store for such of group, it has no idea. But what it does know; is that they are too weak. They are much too weak for what is in store for them. So in the end, it only had one thing to say. **"Show me your will."**

* * *

_**(A couple minutes before-With Kushina)**_

* * *

Violet eyes blinking furiously, Kushina looked around her area and scowled. She was not lost. She was not fucking lost here. It's just that the trees keep on moving around. That's it! No doubt her baby is out smashing Mizuki-teme into paste. And if her daughter took after Mina-kun, it's only obvious that her son would take after her destructive methods. After all, who wouldn't want to blow things up to kingdom come, especially when it comes to your enemies harming your loved ones?

…yeah, blowing them to hell is the simple answer to your problems. Smirking slightly at that thought, she stopped walking when she heard another shockwave of sound echo within the woods. Most likely from her son's fought with…whatever it was he's fighting. All she knows is that it's much stronger than Mizuki-teme, and that she currently can't get to said fight no matter how many miles she runs. What was the count…thirteen? At best her baby was only half a mile away when she arrived to deal with those Shinobi from earlier. Oh how she wanted to string them up by their toenails, tie slabs of meat all around them and several packets of hormones on them before releasing the Inuzuka Hounds for desert **and **mating season. Clicking her tongue at what happened to them before her departure, she huffed. She'll just have to make due to those funny looking armored dogs that showed up.

A small maniacal giggle escaped her lips, but in the end, she frowned. Her right foot taking a single step back as golden chains erupted from the ground around her. The tip's curving back to form a dome like shape as a blanket of blue flames ran throughout her surroundings. The embers flickered against an invisible wall in between the chain links while Kushina narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

_'So there was something keeping me here.'_ She muttered under her breath. Eye's drifting towards the center of the dome, she watched as the conjoined chains began to twist in a circular motion. _'The man from before doesn't seem like a person who stalls. From his stance, while relaxed, was set in a way where he could sprint into action at a moment's notice.'_ And from what she's seen of the intruder, blood and darkness can't keep a person walking around in an endless forest.

…Genjutsu…no, "Illusions…?"

"…Ara, never really thought someone would figure it out!" A feminine voice giggled in bemusement.

Blinking in surprise, Kushina watched as the sea of flames receded into the forest harmlessly passing by the trees and foliage without burning them to a crisp. A woman emerging from the receding flames in the process. Eyeing her, she couldn't help but frown. She knew that the stranger was a woman, but other than that, her image was…distorted in a sense. Blue flames flickering from her visage as they coiled around the woman's form, Kushina could only make out eerie teal blue eyes that stared right into hers.

"Who are you?" Kushina stated bluntly. She had no time to play around. She needed to get to her children.

Embers flickering in amusement, the woman giggled. "That my dear, is for another time." She replied quietly. "But, you, my dear…I have much to discuss with you."

Staring at the mysterious figure blankly, Kushina did the first thing she could think of. Above her head, the twisting chains clinked, and in but a moment, released. The resulting action bringing a whirlwind of gold that extended beyond its reach tearing right through the surrounding canopy of trees. While watching the destruction unfold, Kushina only had several reasons as to why she didn't stop and listen to the unknown woman.

One: She was no doubt in lead with the other individual who's her husband is fighting. Two: She's keeping her away from her children with this annoying illusion. Three: She's keeping her from murdering the soon to be bloodstain because of said illusion. Four: **She's keeping her from her babies.** That alone was more than enough reason to gut her like a fish.

"You really are an overprotective mother, aren't you!? Even when abandoning one child over the other, you still think you have the right to have his love." Kushina didn't blink. Gyrating chains abruptly halting, they hang their suspended in the air before their dagger tipped tips curved and stabbed themselves deep into the ground. In but moments, the ground around them erupted in a barrage of golden chains that stabbed high into the sky. They simply stood their stoically pointing into the sky. But in a single moment, the previous whirlwind evolved into a downright maelstrom as the chain's twitched once, twice, and trice before spiraling around the area in a full one-hundred eighty degree dome. Kushina herself was watching in the eye of the storm that was around ten meters in diameter.

Hearing a faint giggle, she turned around annoyance clear in her eyes. "Ara, you really are a violent one, aren't you." It wasn't a statement. "How are you so sure that you didn't hurt your kids with this stunt of yours?"

"It's called mother's intuition." Kushina said with a big, fake, smile. "Now while I should~ question on why you attacked my village~…I find I don't really give a damn about that at the moment." She chirped cheerfully, her smile radiating blood-lust with her eye's flashing crimson. Chains erupting from her palms respectively, she retracted them for a bit so only four links were present before their dagger shaped tips grew in size while the chains stayed the same. Before long, she held two golden double edged swords in her hands with the chain links hanging harmlessly in between. "What I do care about is the fact that you're an obstacle, and when I meet and obstacle," Her grin turning feral. "I tend to tear them to shreds!"

Lips quirking in amusement, the woman eyed her surrounding's for a moment and nodded. "Just as a mother should," Smile still present on her lips, the air around her distorted. Her form clearing as the flames began to flicker around a cloaked form fading into existence. Two tails of sunny blonde hair draped over her shoulders, and teal blue eyes filled with bemusement. "But tell me, with the things you've done, or more exactly, haven't done…" Waving her hand in the space in front of her, the flickering flames that surrounded her spiraled to form a pale blue rectangular panel of fire. The screen shifting with colors as the pale blue was replaced by a variety of dark shades. The most prominent being a deep red bordering black that littered its image. "After all, a mother's neglection can cause a child to do many things." When the image cleared, it showed a picture of a forest clearing a midst in the rain.

Slowly closing her eyes, she turned to face the red headed woman with a slight frown. "…You're not denying these accusations." She noted after a couple moments.

Staring at the woman with disbelief in her eyes, Kushina simply snorted. "Why would I?" Tracing the tip of her blades along the ground below, she shook her head. She was giving her a plastic smile, but the blood thirst behind it had vanished. "After all, I am a horrible mother. You're just speaking the truth."

'…_Well she changed moods fast.'_ The blonde thought idly. "I'm surprised you're even answering." The teal eyed woman smiled lightly. "Didn't you proclaim that you would tear me to shreds?"

A smile returning to her lips, Kushina simply giggled. "Oh I would, but like I said, I only do that to obstacles." Stabbing both blades into the ground, the golden maelstrom of chains around them halted abruptly. Not a single link or tip moving as if time itself had been stopped. Smile still playing on her lips, Kushina simply pulled her blade from the ground. The surrounding links followed behind as they retracted into the earth.

Raising her brow in amusement, the woman's smile widened. "Oh, and what makes you think **I'm** not an obstacle?" She asked calmly. Flames dancing around her fingers, she stood silent as the entire world around her shattered. The sounds of a piercing roar echoing in the night as the damaged scene from before vanished from their sights.

Putting on a mock thoughtful face, Kushina simply shrugged her shoulders. "I would know if I actually planned on fighting you." Releasing her grip on her blades hilt, she let them fall before gripping tightly to the golden chains connecting them to her palm. Rolling her wrists, she swung around the blades around in a circular motion with a serene smile on her lips. "But still, I must thank you none the less!" She chirped happily.

"Oh," Staring at her in bemusement, she simply flicked her wrists dropping small blue embers to smolder on the earth below. "What would you be thanking me for exactly?" Usually that doesn't happen.

Just as she was about to answer, a sudden quake shook the earth making her pause. "Well, I'm thanking you for insinuating that I'm such a horrible mother!" She replied with a quick grin that was quickly replaced by a small frown as the earth shook once more.

With the stranger, she simply blinked in bemusement. "And why would you be happy about that?" She asked dryly. Ignoring the next quake, she watched as annoyance began to form in the red head's violet eyes.

"Well~…I'm going to have to give that question a rain check." Kushina drawled as another quake shook the earth. Before the woman could even reply though, the field exploded in multiple's puffs of smoke blocking her sight. When it died down to a manageable level, she couldn't help but twitch in reminiscing annoyance. Red headed replicas with gleamed golden swords as far as she could see, an eerie almost psychotic sparked in their eyes. _'Really, if I didn't know better, then I would have guessed that stupid fool was the origin of the Uzumaki's.'_ She mumbled inwardly. But if you looked deeper into her eyes, you could see a certain fond annoyance.

Looking around, she found herself surrounded by around twenty four of the female Uzumaki's only to frown. The original Kushina had already left. That much she could tell, but in the end, she might as well have been too late. After all, Illusions do more than simply affecting the five senses. So with that in mind, she weaved her right hand through the panel and gathered the blue flames around her fingertips. Snapping her fingers, the embers that smoldered along the ground sparked for but a moment, before spiraling into large azure flames that's shifted and molded into a solid form. When it was finished, there was a ghostly blue kitsune made of flames right by her side. "Ara…I was looking forward to facing the woman that was said to be able to subdue the Pseudo-Kyuubi on her own." Staring at the clones for a moment, she scratched her pet behind the ears and sighed in reluctance. "Might as well amuse myself for the moment…" And with a snap of her fingers, the Kitsune shot forward like a bullet while her form was surrounded by a spiraling mass of blue flames. A smile tugging at her lips as the clones simply moved out of the way instead of letting their forms get hit. "…I wonder how hubby is doing." She thought aloud in monotone.

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_**Ah...please review and give me your opinions.**_


	12. Chapter 11

_**Ah...I do not own Naruto, but all original characters are mine.**_

_**Chapter 11**_

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_**Ah...i apologize for the lack of updating for those who continue to read this. The connection was cut, and i hope you like this chapter. And as for any flamers that would hate on this story...**_

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_Blood seeping through his teeth, a hoarse chuckle escaped from his cracked lips. Dim cerulean blue eye's sluggishly falling; he tilted his head forward lips twitching into a small grin. Feeling his ribs crack, he bit his lip as it's claws sank deeper into his side. His body held up in the air in Torazuki's right left hand, he attempted to move his right arm only to remember that it was being crushed along with his torso. His left arm mangled, but freely hanging alongside its wrist._

"…_**You're a strange one."**__ Its deep guttural voice said. __**"Why do you smile, even at the face of death?"**__ Staring into the child's eyes, it watched as that whatever light that seemed to remain slowly vanished._

_Repeating its question in his head, Naruto couldn't help but let out a brief pained laugh. Bitterness, yet reluctant expectance clear in his eyes. Staring right into its eyes, he grinned. "Would you be surprised if I said I'd be used to it?" The deep gouges made in his side. His bloodied left arm, the third degree burns that littered his skin…none of it was new._

_Nose twitching, it tightened its grip on the boy's torso making him gasp. Feeling the child's torso crack under the pressure, it let up for but a moment only to prick the bottom of Naruto's jaw with its thumb. Blood trailing down its thumb as a result; it turned its gaze towards the broken being's companions. __**"…A broken child…do you fear death?"**__ The anomaly was all but unconscious. The doll was barely conscious as is, but the glare that it sent its way. A deep slitted crimson that faded into vast cerulean, but it was no less dark._

_Keeping silent, he hummed in silence. "You…" He started in a low whisper. "…it's a matter of perception really." Seeing a glint of confusion in its eyes, he smiled. His left arm swung forward lightly as a thin line of green slashed against Torazuki's tendons around the wrist. Its claws softening for but a moment in response, Naruto parted open his lips. A thin drop of blood shifting in between the canal of his lips, a streak of green spiraled around the droplets. Before it could react, a spiraling cyclone erupted from his mouth slamming right into Torazuki. Its body skidding back along the unstable ground, the cyclones radius grew wider with each passing foot until its entire body was covered in a storm of winds. _

_Dropping to the ground, blood splattering from his lips, he chuckled weakly as he dropped to the ground in a splash on his knees. A puddle of his own blood cushioning his fall, but drenched his visage in red, he stumbled forward shoulders scrapping against the crumbled pieces of earth beneath. Eye's glazing over for a moments second, he stumbled back on his behind in mild confusion. His vision blurring, he tilted his head forward and let out a soft hum of exhaustion._

_When his vision cleared, he could only stare at the destruction ahead. A large gouge scarred deep into the earth that only grew and grew in radius. Dust being the remainder of the rubble and splinters and bark littering the thirty-five meter long trench in front of him. From above, it would probably look as if something had clawed into the earth._

_But at the very end, he couldn't help but hum in amusement as the bipedal tiger emerged from the rubble layered with trees and boulders. Craning his neck around for a moment, he stared at the two girls with an unreadable emotion in his eyes. While one was unconscious, he met the cerulean blue of his sisters face to face._

_Smiling softly, he shifted his weight and slowly stood up on his feet. His body stumbled forward for a moment only for him to place one foot forward preventing his fall. Muscles numb, he turned his attention towards Torazuki. Its form slowly closing the distance as the cuts and gashes littering its body slowly closed. _'High…speed regeneration…indeed…'_ Straightening his back as much as he could, his smile dropped for a moment as his shoulders slumped. Both arms hanging limply by his sides as all sense of connection he felt with them vanished._

_Staring at his arms for a moment, he kept completely still. Parting open his lips, he closed his eyes for a moment. _'…'_ Feeling something stir within, he pondered on it as his legs began to slowly shake from strain. Opening them slightly, he felt a small pulse of familiar warmth vibrate through his being. It was neither cold, nor warm. It just was. Opening his eyes, the white in his hair replaced by the black, his smile dropped to a small frown as deep red eyes stared ahead. The white of his eyes sinking into the black, his thoughts numbed for but a moment. "…Thanks…" Deep in his mindscape, a single chain cracked._

_Standing completely still, he calmly watched as Torazuki shot forward in a blur. Its form crossing the distance in but a moment, Naruto's eye's widened for but a moment as its clawed hand simply stopped centimeters from his neck. Golden chains wrapped around its demonic visage by the dozens, his eye's returned to normal as the energy from before slowly left his systems._

_Arms wrapping around his shoulders from behind, he was silent as he was buried into a warm hug. Eye's blurring once more, his head shook with headaches as he slowly craned his head around. His eye's meeting the violets of his mother's; they lingered on hers before dropping. His peripheral vision spotting two copies of her picking up Kokoro and Natsumi in their arms, he let out a shaky hum. Lips quirking in a soft grin as his head was buried into her chest. "…So warm…"_

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_**(Several Days Later)**_

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Wincing in annoyance, he continued to pace through the forest at a slow steady pace. His side aching in slight sting, he looked around warily and saw nothing hiding within the tree tops. After a couple seconds, he sniffed the air and found nothing but the scent of earth and leaves…as well as the metallic odor that was his blood. But that might be because he hadn't changed the bandages for a couple hours.

"_You really have an obsession going on here fishcake."_ Ashe commented dryly.

Eye's twitching, he hummed in mild acceptance. _'I haven't visited in nearly two weeks Ashe.'_ Pressing his palm against the bark of a nearby tree, he closed his eyes and listened. _'I've had enough of Namikaze keeping me from her. The seal's may still be here, but it only diverts someone's sense of direction.'_ Opening his eyes, he hummed in contentment as small threads of green slowly began to fade into existence. Their small forms disappearing and vanishing every couple seconds only to reappear in a completely different spot. After a couple seconds, he stared at a particular string that was a light crystal blue color.

Taking in the scent of fresh water, he blinked and the threads were gone. Tilting his head forward, he continued to hum a soft melodic tune. _"From the way you're talking about her, it seems you affection for her goes far that simple sibling love!"_ Ashe whispered teasingly.

He ignored the comment, but the slight twitching of his brow and hint of pink on his cheeks proved otherwise. _'Aren't you supposed to be torturing a fox?'_ He asked irritably. Really, can't the woman leave his romantic life alone for a second?

"_In that order, the fox hid himself away for some sleep a while ago. He didn't really like the fact that one of my attack pastries nearly made a chew toy out of his tails."_ Huffing at the indignation of it all, she pouted. _"Really, people these days have no sense of humor anymore."_ Well, at least the chocolate filling on that sprinkled glazed donut was good. Even if the center literally spat out random beams of destruction and chaos of any and all elements she thought possible. Taking the step back, she turned to her left eyeing the spinning donut around twenty feet in diameter light itself on fire taking the shape of a fiery disk of chocolaty doom. _"Huh…so that's where the fourth one went."_ She muttered absentmindedly. Not a moment later, the sounds of cursing and roars of rage echoed through underground bunker. Licking her lips, her stomach growled slightly as a glazed look flashed over her eyes. _"I wonder if I should go for an icy sundae next time."_

Chuckling softly in amusement as Ashe drifted off in thought, he let out a small grin. _'When I first met you, I never really expected you to have a sweet tooth.'_

"_I'd blame my brother for getting me addicted to all things pastry, but then I'd be denying the fruity flavor candy that I've come to know and love!"_ Sighing dramatically, her hand placed over her heart, she sighed again…only to stop and blink. _"Yeah…I probably should have sighed at the end."_ She muttered _"Would have been funny that way."_

Silently laughing, his grinned widened ever so slightly. Ever since he met the girl, it's been a constant thing of her's to get distracted by the smallest of things. While annoying at first, he began to take amusement out of it knowing that it was just how she is. He's still annoyed by the fact that it'll take a while for her to snap out of it.

Shrugging his shoulders in reluctance, his grin dropped to a line as a small hum once again vertebrate through the air. Looking around, he took another whiff, and continued following the scent of fresh water. Feeling the grass crumble beneath his bare feet, he took a brief look at his attire and shook his head before continuing. Maybe he should have put on a change of clothes before sneaking out of the Namikaze's home.

Right now, all he was wearing were slightly baggy orange jogging pants and a sleeveless light blue sweatshirt. Besides that, his feet were bare and one could see the bandages around his arms and neck. On the corner of his eyes, he fingered his side bangs and stared for a moment.

Ever since he used Ashe's power to heal the injuries Kokoro and Natsumi sustained…at whatever that thing was**-Ashe called it a Fragment -**his side bangs had turned into a snow white color. Does using her power mean he'll take after some of her appearance? After a moment's thought, he imagined himself with snow white spiky hair and couple with his cerulean blues, and whisker marks. His tanned skin had dropped a shade, but not by much, but other than that, he thought he'd look pretty cool.

Shrugging at the thought, he ignored the slight sting coming from his side and continued on. His thoughts turning back to the events that occurred for the past couple days. The first thing on his agenda…his lost to the Fragment he calls Torazuki.

The beast was strong. Incredibly so, and he was lucky that Natsumi and Kokoro came to help at that very moment. If not, then he'd have asked for **his** help a lot sooner. The Fragment mowed down through Natsumi's **Kage Bushin's** without any effort on its part, and that was when it was being bombarded by Kokoro's Blackbirds and electric charges, and occasionally, from time to time Natsumi's Chakra Chains. It was doing all that, and it was still matching him blow for blow while injuring him with each strike. The only reason he even managed to get some hits in was due to his sensitivity to the air currents and near instantaneous reflex control.

The bad part of it all…they only lasted three minutes. If Kushina hadn't come to help when she did, then he'd have done something that would have permanently labeled him as a demon to both the Civilian and Shinobi populace. Ashe would have freaked out on the sudden use of unknown energy.

"…" Ear's twitching to the muted reply, Naruto sighed. After a couple seconds, he carefully directed his thoughts through a different channel. 'She doesn't really know about you yet, you know.'

Feeling something tingle through his nerves, he simply hummed in thought. 'Kurama might have a clue as to who you are, but Ashe respects privacy despite being the curious little vixen she's known to be.'

"…_**?"**_ Eye's twitching at its reply; Naruto could only chuckle sheepishly in response. 'She's not that bad, she's just…unique…?'

He didn't need a reply to know it was staring at him with a deadpanned gaze. _**"…"**_ Lips quirking upwards in amusement, he nodded. 'Okay…I can at least admit that her plotting to turn me into a mini-her was a bit over the top. But it was amusing none the less, don't you think.' Hear a soft snort in reply, he chuckled. 'Would it make you feel better if I told you that I could've had her transform Kurama into a baby kitsune?' Hearing nothing in reply, he grinned as a spark of red cackled in the depths of his mind.

"…" Stopping for a moment, he raised a small brow in bemusement at that comment. 'What does Usagi-chan have to do with this?' Feeling a sense of bemusement wash over him, he twitched. 'Why would I do that? Usagi-chan is mine. So why wouldn't I obliterate any male scum that dare's to come within twenty feet of her?' Feeling a sense of exasperation, confusion played in his eyes. After a couple moments of silence, he shrugged and continued his walk.

After the battle, he had woken up two days later. A surprise considering that such wounds usually healed overnight, but it probably took longer because he wasted much more energy than normal…and blood, lots and lots of blood. Staring at the bandages sticking out from beneath his collar, he lingered on the red stain located on his left side and shook his head.

The first person he saw when he woke up was Usagi-chan. His Tetsumi Kokoro, but she had also been in a hospital gown and situated in a bed right next to his own. He didn't really want to face her at the time, so he pretended to be asleep. Thinking of the possibility of Kokoro denying him because of what he was…he didn't like it. He did not like it at all. So he was surprised by her when she turned to his direction.

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_**(Flashback)**_

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_Blinking in confusion, Kokoro could only stare at Naruto with an unreadable expression in her eyes. Looking around, she stared at the square white room they were in. The IV drip attached to her arm, she simply sighed before turning to the multi-colored blonde._

…_He was asleep. He was covered in burns. Burns that were quickly healing, but he was covered in burns none the less. He had bandages wrapped tightly, yet comfortably around his torso. Smiling softly, she eyed the whiskers on both sides of his cheeks and pondered. Her thoughts taking her to what Mizuki-sensei told her, she stared._

"_Ah…Naruto…your awake…aren't you." It wasn't a question, but the blonde didn't react to it anyway. Staring at him calmly, she simply sighed before pulling her legs out from under her covers. Besides the bandages around her sides and hands, she really wasn't injured all that much. Naruto…he was the one who fought…whatever Mizuki had tuned into head on._

_Natsumi and she stayed back as support. They were angry at first that Naruto told them that they couldn't help, and reluctantly agreed. But as the fight started, they saw that the reason he told them to stay as support was because they were ill-equipped to deal with the bipedal tiger…severely. The destruction they caused…the power they both held…it was something that told them that they would have held him back._

_She doesn't know how he got so strong, but she wasn't going to pry. "…I wonder…how you dealt…with it." Mizuki's words echoing in her ears, she smiled softly. "How…did you deal…with all the…hatred?" She asked. _

"…_How can you…still smile like this?" Moving forward, she traced her fingers softly against his cheeks. Giggling slightly as he nuzzled against her hand, she pulled her hand away. "I don't know…about your circumstances…but what I do know…is that you are…a kind person…" Leaning forward, she recalled his words from before and parted his locks."…you are…not a demon…you are…Naruto…" With a light flush, she pressed her lips against his forehead. "…don't ever…think otherwise."_

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_**(Flashback End)**_

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'_Not a demon, am I?'_ Humming softly in bitter amusement, he pulled himself forward as he climbed up a hill. Hearing a crack, he turned to the side and pulled his fingers away from the tree. Five separate holes visible to his eyes, he lingered for a moment before moving on in silence. Ignoring the sharpness of his nails or the fact that they seemed to retract to their normal shape and length, he continued to hum.

Afterwards, Kokoro was released from the hospital, but he was still there. After escaping it for the twentieth time, the doctors decided to release him as well deciding that any brat capable of outrunning several Chunin in his condition was well and fine. He ignored the brat part in favor of finally leaving the place. Lying down in a bed surrounded by white walls and the scent of anesthetic…yeah, not his cup of ramen. Hospitals are supposed to make you feel healthy, not feel that your already among the dead.

…Besides, he already has a bad reputation with the villagers, so staying in a place where they could drug and poison you at a moment's notice was not really a good idea. _"When is it ever?"_ Ashe chuckled dryly. _"Hospitals are for the dead, and the outside is for the living…or me chasing down any and all sweet vendors I could find within a three mile radius."_

'_That is something I can agree with.'_ Catching the scent of the lake, he smiled when he pulled himself forward. A smile making its way to his lips, he nodded eye's glittering in slight joy. Gaze lingering on the crystal blue lake and the wide variety of trees, he hummed in amusement. How he missed the scent of the clearing. Eyeing the grave a while off on the other side of the lake, his grin widened.

Taking a step forward, he frowned in slight annoyance. He would have been here sooner, but Kushina had dragged him out of the streets and into their home. He was stuck there for three days being tortured by the red heads attempted motions of affection. She hovered over him constantly worrying about his injuries. She cooked several different flavors of ramen that had him salivating much to his embarrassment. For the first time in his life, the woman is smothering him.

…Its…annoying. _"You can't really blame her on that part."_ Ashe commented idly much to his chagrin. _"Even if she wasn't a horrible mother, she finally saw you covered in your own blood for the first time in her life. And I mean, literally covered in it."_ Hearing the drop in her tone, Naruto's eyes twitched.

'_It's not like I haven't been in that situation before.'_ He replied calmly.

Raising a brow at that, she huffed. _"Yes, but from a psychological example, she's a family woman who's realized that she practically abandoned her son to a village full of prejudiced idiots for fourteen whole years. And the second time she actually focused on her son, he was covered in his own blood-which was the amount to kill an average adult-about to be killed by freakish tiger-human monster hybrid by her perspective."_ Stopping for a moment, she frowned when she felt three odd gazes on her and scowled. _"What?"_ Wait…three? Eyes drifting towards the chained door, she huffed when it closed shut.

'_Just never took you for the psychological type.'_ Naruto admitted wearily. _'Aren't you supposed to be on my side anyway?'_ He asked.

"_Yeah…not really,"_ Ashe giggled eerily. _"As I said before, until you can best me in a fight, I will not acknowledge you as my king. So until then, I'm on my side!"_ Hearing him twitch in response, she grinned. _"But that does not mean I won't help of course. I'm a morally just person, so I it's obvious to me that what the villagers did to you was just plain human."_

Raising a brow at that, Naruto frowned in confusion. _'Don't you mean inhumane?'_

Eye's frosting over, Ashe's smile dropped to a small curve of her lips. _"No, when I mean human, I mean human."_ She replied airily. _"As far as I've known, humans are the only species to take oh so much pleasure in killing living things. Animals do it for instinct and it's simply a must for their survival. Demons would rather stay far away from them seeing humans as a waste of time and thinks it's a waste of time to erase their species from existence. And no offence to your race Fishcake,"_ She started with a sly grin_. "But you people survive like cockroaches and breed like rabbits. It's nearly impossible because no matter how many millions and billions are killed off, humans keep on coming back with bigger weapons and larger numbers than before. So as I said before, no offence."_

'_None take,'_ it was her opinion on how humanity is, and he has no right to change that. And in a sense, what she said does make sense…in a twisted odd kind of way. He just wonders on what she saw human's do to make her so…cynical about them. _'Wait, what about the gods?'_ He asked curiously. She mentioned humans and demons, but not the gods.

Eye's jerking up in mild surprise, Ashe grinned at his question. _"So you believe that there are more than just a single god!?"_ She asked with mild bouts of excitement.

Looking around idly, he nodded in response. _'Why do you ask? You have nice things to say about them?'_

"_Not really, I'm just annoyed at how people continue thinking that there is only a single god, their god, and that their religion is always right and that none believers will be sent to hell for their sins."_ Snorting in amusement, she giggled. Oh please, she's already been to hell. A bit different from Gehenna, but overall a bit bland for her tastes…wonder if she should tell the boy that her first visit to hell had involved her to nearly take over the place single-handedly if only to stop the resurrection of a being that could have done the exact same thing without much trouble. _'Nah, maybe later,'_ she wasn't really in her right mind at the time at that moment.

"_And as for the gods, most of the time they simply sit on their thrones doing whatever it is that they do with their time. They tend to leave things in the human world alone unless there's a threat that's heading right for them."_ Waving that off, she huffed_. "Personally, some are nice, but at most, they have a twisted sense of humor that involves fucking up with mortal lives just to satisfy their amusement when their bored."_ At least that's what her older brother told her. She wasn't sure whether or not to believe him due to the fact he had a sadistically evil grin when speaking about his fight with Jupiter, Zeus, Odin, and Susano-o.

He told her that he once had a spat with someone called Izanagi, but didn't delve in further. If he wasn't in the mood to talk about his fights, then that just proves that he really didn't like his opponent. The only one who she actually met was the one her twin had a crush on. Not really sure how that went now that she thought about it. As she continued to wander in her thoughts, she idly noted the small spark of red that trailed along the walls of the underground bunker. Eye's narrowing in slight surprise, she returned to her thoughts.

Hearing nothing but silence, Naruto hummed in mild expectance. She must be rambling again; her topic was about her experiences with the gods. _**"…"**_ Ears twitching, he shrugged. 'Don't ask me. She keeps her past a secret, and right now I think the only one who actually knows anything might be Kurama.'

"…" Raising a brow at its question, he frowned. '…The book might only be just a fairy tale…but right now there are a bit too many coincidences to put it off. The main cause being the phrase Fragments.' Add to the fact that he only has the first volume…he doesn't really have any clues to go on.

Thinking on it for a moment, he hummed in mild annoyance and pushed the issue to the back of his mind for later. Turning his attention back towards the grave, he froze in his tracks. His eyes honing in on the black clocked figure standing in front of Cecilia-nee's grave. After a couple silent moments, he vanished. Small droplets of water leaping in the air along the lake, Naruto reappeared right above the clocked figure swing down his right heel down onto him. Instead of slamming into the stranger, his leg sliced right through the cloak and sliced cleanly into the earth below.

Ear's twitching, he watched as the cloak dissolved into thin air and scowled. Turning around, cerulean blue's met royal and he froze. The entire atmosphere shaking in response as his knees began to buckle beneath him. The air around him was screaming. It was screeching in pain. It silent voice shouting at him that the being in front of him was not natural, that he was dangerous beyond all comprehension.

Muscles tense and frozen, he glared at the man in front of him with all his might. His eye's flashing a blood red shade unknowingly peaking the man's interest. When he raised his gloved hand, Naruto flinched as it felt like the man's form began to grow. His royal blue eyes glowing with an ominous ghostly shine as his hand moved ever so closer to his head.

Shutting his eyes closed, he was about to react when the tension in the air vanished. After a couple seconds, he hesitantly opened one eye and blinked in confusion. The man's gloved hand running his fingers through Naruto's spiky locks with a pleased smile on his face. "You really are a unique child." He commented softly. "Even while afraid, you stood your ground instead of running." Removing his hand from the child's head, his smile softened as the child blinked once more. Incomprehension clear on his expression as his simply stared blankly him.

Humming in soft amusement, his grin widened. "What you did would be admirable in most cases, but…" Flicking his forehead, he sighed as the boy winced in response. "You should save that for those that are active Naruto, not for an ornament. It could get you killed one of these days." Not that he could talk. Closing his eyes, he nodded sagely as he continued his lecture. "After all, if you died protecting some trinket, then those who care for—hey, where'd you go!?" Looking around, he scratched his ears in confusion as he searched around for the missing blonde-snow-red haired fishcake. Eye's flashing red, he turned to the tree behind the grave and found his prey—no, his, uh, companion. Yeah, that's it.

Before he could make any comment, the boy puckered his lips and let out a short puff of air. Hand snapping forward, he stared at the small ethereal green senbon in between his fingers with a raised brow. "Oi, no needle stabbing kid," He barked in slight irritation. "That's my shtick—"Jumping back, he watched as a giant green sword half twice his size slashed down into the earth from his left effectively cutting of his view to Cecilia's grave and the spiky haired brat.

"…Okay, I kinda walked in on that one." He muttered eyeing the glowing green sword. "But still, so young and he's already capable of molding ethereal blades with his element." Walking forward, he poked at it for a couple seconds and nodded. "It's sturdy to, but the main problem is that the amount of power in it would only let it last…just…about...now." And as if on cue, the blade shattered causing him to chuckle in amusement.

Staring at the laughing man a couple meters away, Naruto frowned in subdued curiosity. The man was strange. The air was no longer screeching in pain when around him. If anything, it was like the air around the man didn't even exist. In a sense, the man was there, but at the same time there. _'Not really sure if that made sense.'_

"Not really!" The man chirped annoyingly.

Eye's twitching, he scowled. _'Ah…funny guy aren't you. Then why don't you read this you…'_ After a couple seconds, he went through whatever curse word and torture methods currently going through his mind. And from the looks of the fools gaping jaw, the fool heard every single one of them.

Staring at him with wide eyes, he could only gape in silence at what currently went through his mind. After a couple seconds, he closed his mouth in exasperation and huffed. "You know, I'd probably find all that cute if you hadn't been politely insulting me with every single word you know." Stopping for a moment, he scowled. "Oh, and thanks to you, I'll probably never look at jelly filled donuts ever again. What a sick twisted mind you have you ironically sadistic puppet." He commented dryly.

Frown dropping into a scowl, Naruto hummed in annoyance. "I'm going to ignore that comment for now seeing as you're not local to this village. But I shall ask you, how did you find this clearing?" He asked frostily. Despite not being scared of the man anymore, he was still wary. For those who hold power, it's always the sarcastic friendlies that you have to watch out for.

"Well, you can say that I'm here on vacation." The strange man drawled. "As for why I'm here, well…I decided to do a little thing called walking. You know, move your right leg forward, then left, and repeat steps in order." Stopping for a moment, he grinned. "Maybe you should try it some time."

Eye's twitching, Naruto scowled. "Yes, I might try that sometime. But maybe you should try a thing call, I don't know, walking away." He snorted taking the same tone as the man in front of him. "It's just like walking, only to take one step back, followed by the next, and repeat by that order till you're out of my sight and on the other half of this cursed planet." Stopping for a moment, he matched the man's mocking grin with his own. "Try out the western ocean; I hear they have beautiful man eating sharks that are just positively lonely. Go give them some company, and hopefully, never come back within this and the next seventy-five million generations…" Stopping for a moment, he frowned. "Or, ever in my opinion…you're choice." Not really.

Blinking at the comeback, he simply chuckled in response. "You're not one for conversation, are you?" He asked in bemusement. Finger's twitching; he stared down at the gloves in his hand and clicked his tongue. Pulling them off, he hummed in contentment as the cool breeze tingled against his skin. Really wasn't a fan of heat here…or at all now that he thinks about it. "Then again, I doubt you received those injuries just by being a friendly conversationalist. What did you do, offer them a cookie?"

Blinking, his eyes narrowed in realization before snorting in silent amusement. "Not really a cookie per say," He started slowly for dramatic effect. "But how was I supposed to know people wouldn't like demonic ice-spewing ramen bowls?" Really, who knew? Who cares if they accidentally ate those annoying brats? They stole his ramen.

"…" Ear's twitching in mild annoyance, he huffed. 'They were spat out in the end.' Besides, the stupid brats would have given his pets indigestion. Feeling someone's gaze on him, he remembered that there was another man here. "Who are you anyway?" He asked scrunching up his face in curiosity.

Blinking, the man couldn't help but chuckle. His thoughts on the ice spewing ramen the boy supposedly made. _'Interesting, the boy really is interesting.'_ Closing his eyes, he stared at the grave surrounded by crystal flowers. "Before I answer that, do you mind telling me who built this grave?" Frowning, he looked around his surroundings and hummed in thought. "Not that I disapprove of the view, but graves are usually in, you know, cemeteries."

Eye's staring at the man in suspicion, Naruto's lips twitched for a moment before letting out a reluctant hum. "Same reason why I don't like hospitals," He replied walking out from behind the tree. Keeping one eye on the stranger, he let the other wander around the scenery. A soft smile playing at his lips as a sense of nostalgia washed over him. "Hospitals are supposed to make people feel better. Not like they're waiting in line for the Shinigami, and from my experience, the being has enough on his plate as is."

"You speak as if you actually met it." He inquired thoughtfully.

Snorting softly at Royal's**-The name he decided to call him-**comment, he hummed in soft amusement. "Who really knows," Naruto chuckled. "There are people dropping dead every couple seconds, and as far as I know, there's only one of it. Who wouldn't be busy?"

"…Point taken."

Rolling his eyes at the man, he turned his attention towards the grave. "As for the location," He stated calmly. "I wanted Cecilia-nee to feel at peace, not feel annoyed or unsettled by whatever annoying bats and ghosts that haunts' the cemeteries." Besides, the insects didn't need to know of her existence. She was his, and he was sure that the bugs would have defiled her monument given the chance. _'After all, if Mizuki knew about her, what's to say no one else did?'_ He pondered scathingly. He'll have to look into that another time.

Raising a brow at his description, he let out a soft laugh, only it wasn't mocking nor was it judgmental. "I didn't take you for the type you believe in ghosts!" He laughed softly.

Shivering slightly at the mention of the spirits, he huffed in annoyance. "Oh I do alright, and I plan on staying well away from them before I find a way to help them rest in peace." Or pieces…"Besides, Cecilia-nee once told me that she liked the silent sound of nature more than the irritating buzzing of the villages and civilization. Brought out the magic of the place when you just really stop and look, she said to me." Of course, there was more to it than that, but he was more worried about running away from the crazed psycho woman that was trying to forcefully take him a bath.

Hearing a snort, he twitched. 'I was seven for crying out loud,' He whined weakly. 'Besides, you would have done the same if you were facing the full brunt of her eyes as well.' The sadistically eerie gleam in Cecilia-nee's eyes was really scary, and its silence proved his point. "Longer story shorter, I thought it was a good idea to bring the grave here. It's far away from the bustling of villagers and it's surrounded by nature." It was also the first place they met, but he wasn't going to say that. Sentimental reasons, you could say. "An almost perfect spot I could say."

Finger's twitching, Royal frowned thoughtfully. Eye's turning back to the grave, or more specifically, the engraved writing on the stone, he tilted his head forward. "Almost perfect," He repeated softly. "What would be perfect to you then?"

"That the grave never existed and she was still here smiling and laughing along with me!" came Naruto's blunt and emotionless reply. "But then again, as the laws of the world dictates, nothing can ever be perfect in life." He stated in a thin veil of bitterness, smoldering rage hidden deep within the lines. Snorting after a moment, a soft smile made its way to his lips. "Other than that, I'm pretty sure that's all to the location." Turning to face the man, he gave Royal a sardonic smile and hummed in bemusement. "Now that I've answered you're questions, how 'bout you answer mine." It wasn't a request. "My first question of business; **who the hell are you?"**

Finger's twitching, Royal let out a snort, eye's dancing with mirth. "You're really paranoid if you haven't changed the question you've been asking for the past couple minutes." Ignoring the small nearly unnoticeable weight that pressed down on his shoulders, he hummed in amusement. "But I'll amuse you due to your rather stupendous way of gathering information." Royal praised sarcastically. "…In a way, you could say I'm friends with the girl's mother, hate the fathers guts though." Extending his right hand forward, he chuckled. "Took a while before I found out what happened, and took even longer to find this place, but the one thing I can recall Cecilia yammering about is this pouty blonde that she wanted to take home with her." Eye's glinting, he grinned wider. "And apparently, I'm talking to her supposed Maelstrom Knight."

Thoughts ticking by, Naruto stared at the man's outstretched hand and frowned. He could sense no lie passing through the man's lips, and in a way, his presence did remind him of Cecilia-nee's. A tiny bit though, just about the size of his sanity. But he felt like her none the less. But there was one thing that probably wouldn't change. Childish as it may be. Petty as it truly is.

He despised this man right down to his very core, and right now he wished he could send him to the never more. But he simply buried those thoughts deep in his being, because jealousy is not something he'd like for others to see. No matter how hypocritical he may be, he'll judge the man here and now and will wait and see.

Eye's ticking once; he tilted his head forward and stared right into the man's royal blue eye. Extending his right arm forward he kept his expression blank as he clasped the man's hands in his own. And at that very moment, the air around them shifted.

* * *

_**(With Ashe)**_

* * *

"**Are you really okay with leaving Naruto to talk with that man?"** The Kyuubi asked. His crimson eyes staring intensely at the female beyond the bars, he scoffed after a couple moments of silence. Huffing in annoyance, his eyes drifted towards her object of attention and frowned. A thoughtful expression entering his eyes for but a moment before impassive boredom overshadowed his thoughts.** "I would've thought you better than that."**

Calmly ignoring the fox's accusations, Ashe simply kept a calm gaze on the chained door ever so far away. Cracks and chinks littering the silver links, but other than that, it looked as strong and sturdy as it did the first time. Only difference was that there were twice as many chains locked around the door than before. The chain links were smaller to, around half the size of her wrist. Besides that, they were wrapped **around** the door. As in there were no walls around it. It was just a door standing upright in the center of an empty space. The lights ominously flickering on and off every couple seconds, she couldn't help but wonder if Naruto ever read any horror stories.

But that wasn't what caught her attention. What caught her attention was the small sparks of red electricity that trailed alongside the chain links. That wasn't there the last time she checked. But from what she gathered, neither were the multitude amount of chains when she first woke up in this seal all those years ago.

Staring blankly at it, she tilted her head forward and stared at the vial resting between her fingers. Red liquid resting calmly within its thinly veiled glass, she frowned. _'Just where did they get this?'_ And for that matter, who unearthed it? Eye's lingering on the vial; she huffed before her ears twitched.

Ignoring the crack that formed right above her head on the ceiling, she turned back to the chains sparking with red electricity. She only knew one person with that kind of variation. "Solomon, don't do anything stupid now."

* * *

_**(With Naruto)**_

* * *

Eye's slowly widening, Naruto watched as the air around them shifted. A small gust of wind billowing forward in soft trails of green, he eyed the flashes of black and white curls that stood against the wind. So when he turned his attention to the man's royal blue eyes, a sardonic smile made its way to his lips. _'Ah…I really do hate this man.'_

* * *

_**(With Natsumi)**_

* * *

Brows ticking nervously, she watched with no small amounts of trepidation as her mother nodded in understanding. Stiffening for a moment, she shook slightly as a small smile made its way to her mother's lips. Her violet eyes brightening ever so much as the eerie silence persisted in the room. "So, are you telling me, that an injured fourteen year old boy, one who has had no shinobi training whatsoever, managed to outsmart and sneak away from you?"

Wincing at the sound of a crack, Natsumi watched with sympathy as her mother dragged her hopefully-soon-to-be sensei off to his imminent doom. She tries, she really does. But as she listened to the girly screams that pierced beyond the walls of the soundproofed home…she found that she just couldn't. Jiraiya let her brother go. Not escape, go.

The escaping thing she understood because her brother can supposedly erase any sound to his movements and scent. His chakra signature feels strange in itself. Like someone or something was blocking her attempts at sensing it. But the man **let** her brother go. For supposed information on his next book…something a fourteen year old shouldn't even know about due to the amount of porn in the stuff. _'I'm going to have to talk to Naruto after this.'_

Ignoring the wall-shattering crack followed by another piercing scream of agony from beyond the door, she huffed. Jiraiya got bribed by a teen. A **Sannin**, a **Sage**, fell for a trick by someone who wasn't even an academy student. Yeah…that knocked his image down a couple thousand pegs in her mind. But it knocked a couple billions in her mother's mind.

Especially when not a couple days prior was her brother covered in his own blood with a mangled left arm. The fact that Mizuki-teme wouldn't let her go take him to a hospital infuriated her. So her mother erased him. The fact that the hospital refused to heal Naruto without being threatened to gain a permanent stay in Konohagakure's prison cells with Kushina being the interrogator sent her on a raging inferno. The fact that said doctors tried to kill and poison Naruto made her into Asura incarnate. By the time he woke up, he was immediately discharged from the hospital, and Kushina left leaving a trail of bloody corpses in her wake…well no corpses, but they got the point.

'_Never harm a child of the__** Akashi no Habanero**__ unless you want a whirlpool of chaos and death to follow behind.'_ And they seemed to have forgotten about the fact that when Naruto woke up, he wouldn't be pleased that they tried to off him when he was down. And the fact that her mother did indeed notice that she hadn't protected him from their abuse simply silenced her visible rage. She was calm. She was quiet. She was motionless. She was smiling. She was crying. And when the Habanero is crying, the **Kirroi Senko** shall start smiting.

Stopping for a moment, she giggled. _'Maybe I've been reading too much of Naruto's books.'_ Her brother has a wide variety, but the whole majority of them were fiction. Anyway, the only reason why she isn't joining in on the beat down was because she actually knew where Naruto was. He told her before he left…well, he told her after she caught him sneaking out. So yeah, she was rather calm about the entire thing.

"…Natsumi-san, your reading a book on advanced sealing." Oh, did she forget that her new friend Kokoro was here?

"I know Koko-chan, but I can't made heads or tails of it." She pouted childishly.

"…You haven't even finished the beginner's manual…and you're reading the cover…upside down." Yep, she was completely calm. "Now you're ripping its spine." completely calm…

* * *

_**(With Naruto)**_

* * *

Blood dribbling from the corners of his lips, he let out a weary chuckle as his body finished skipping along the lake. His feet skidding softy to a stop moments later, he looked forward and grinned. Royal's right hand dripping with blood as the thinly placed cuts on his hand began to mend.

Taking slow deep breaths himself, he felt the sting within his body rise with each fall of his chest. Left hand motioning to his right breast, his eyes sparkled in mirthless amusement. Five well placed holes visible to the naked eye, each one placed within a circular outline…just at the boundaries of his heart. Kind of ironic since he did the same thing to Mizuki all those day's prior. Straightening his back, he tilted his head forward in silent acknowledgement.

"…You dodged?" The man said after a moment's silence.

"Not exactly," Naruto chuckled motioning to his injury. "But you were close enough!" He chirped, but this drew no reaction from the cloaked man.

"…Why?" Royal asked again after a moment.

Brows ticking in sardonic amusement, he hummed in thought. "Why what," He repeated waving off his frosty glare with a chuckle, "Why would I dodge?" He said throwing the question out there. "Why don't you tell me?" The man didn't answer, but as Naruto stared right into his eyes, his grin faltered as blood seeped through his teeth. "…Ah, you ignored my question." He whined weakly. Royal's form fading away into the air, he simply looked down and stared at the arm sticking out of his chest.

* * *

_**AH...I hope you liked the chapter, and for anyone who has any questions...please review you're opinions.**_


	13. Chapter 12

_**Ah...I do not own Naruto, but any and all original characters are mine**_

_**Chapter 12**_

* * *

_**Ah...this is my first time answering reviews, so **__**I apologize if I did anything wrong.**_

_**thor97: Thank you for your review...as for why Royal is attacking Naruto...that would be giving out a spoiler for the future chapters...but I can say that its not because he hates Naruto personally. I'm sorry for not giving a straight answer, but a hint is that it has something to...do with the grave.**_

_**dragzxx: As for Naruto ever hitting Kushina...I'm not really sure how to go about that...but I feel that more damage would be done...if he simply ignore's her attempts of...**_**_reconciliation, that way it'll constantly...remind her of her failures to do anything. Things will...change slowly in the future, but whether...it's good or bad for the village...and for the Namikaze family has yet to be...seen. I hope I answered you're questions._**

**_AkashimaUchiha: Yes, in a sense, Solomon is from a different...world. As for why Naruto would fight on...baseless hate...he is still a child and will react accordingly...to how he feels. No matter how...strong one he is...no matter the experiences he's been through...he is still a child all the same._**

**_A/N: This one is from me because...I've been getting some questions on about...how this story was based. I won't say much...but the world I had involved...in Naruto's world is completely...original. It's characters...are my creation...its landscape, story-line...and past. I really haven't thought of...a name for said world...but i'll just give it the name...Fragmented Core's...because it describes it well...and because it sounds cool. AH...just to let everyone know...said world is something I'm hoping to publish soon...once I figure out all the details. SO in a sense...this is sort of like a...cross-over without the actual...cross-over...I think? Sorry for taking your time with my rambling...and I hope you enjoy the chapter!_**

* * *

Staring at the boy for a couple moments, Royal removed his arm from Naruto's back with a quick flick. The blood coating his coat and fingers slapping against the water as the child stumbled forward. His left arm motioning to the gaping hole in the center of his torso, Royal frowned when he didn't drip into the lake below. "…You're not dead?"

It was quick, but immediately after that question, a shock-wave of heat slammed into him like a trembling train. His form tumbling back along the lakes surface splitting the water, he slammed his legs down on the water kicked himself up into the air. But even then, the momentum didn't stop, and he flew back along the air, his feet crashing into the water several yards away sending a thin veil rising around him.

A frown marring his lips, he stared at his smoking arms and lingered on the bright white bordering red imprint on his sleeves. Straightening himself, he turned his attention back to Naruto and his frown deepened into an unnoticeable scowl.

He was standing motionless at the center of the lake. A gaping fist sized hole present on his torso, but never leaking a single drop of blood. Despite the child having his back turned to him, Royal could only flex his sharpened fingers in slight confusion.

He hears no pulse. He tore apart the child's heart. That is a fact. But how is it then…that this very child is still standing? How is he still able to feel Mana coursing through his veins…and for that matter! How does a child in this era even have Mana to begin with? It's been three millennia's since there was a human capable of utilizing Mana, and due to the dilution of blood and corruption of natural energy, it should no longer be possible for a human to be capable of it!

'…_Well, not impossible exactly, but the chances of me doing anything about that is slim to none.'_ These idiots have already caused so much death chaos with this Chakra alone, and while limited in a sense unlike his own Mana, it has much more versatility. Pity that Kaguya woman refused his offer. She was strong, incredibly so. Well, at least the method she used to stop the wars, if only temporarily, was to his approval…except for the Zetsu bit…yeah. That was a bit gross.

Thinking on it for a moment, he mentally shrugged his shoulders. Diverting his attention back to Naruto, his visage darkened as he began to get a feel of the Mana being used. After a couple moments of staring, Royal relaxed a bit seeing as nothing was happening. The boy wasn't moving. He isn't even…breathing…

Tilting his head forward for a moment, he tensed when the boy's form twitched. After a moment of silence, he snapped his right arm forward as Naruto twisted his body around in a full three-sixty degree spin. His arms shattering the green ethereal ring of wind that spiraled from the boy's leg, he took a step back when Naruto shot forward in a burst of speed. The water splitting aside as he slammed his right palm forward, Royal sidestepped dodging the blow only for Naruto to fade away. Slamming his right elbow back, the water beneath them shook as it collided with Naruto's palm. Arm snapping back, his wrist twisted around letting the boy's attack follow through letting him stumble forward. Grabbing a firm hold of biceps, Royal turned his waist forward and whipped Naruto over his shoulder and into the air. Head tilting to his left, he slammed his left hand forward into Naruto's gut as the boy's own left shot passed his head. The moment his punch landed though, the boy erupted into a gale of violent winds that tore at his hands. Looking ahead, he couldn't help but scowl as he saw Naruto standing at the exact same spot as before. As his hands healed, Naruto turned around meeting his royal blue with red over black.

* * *

_**(Flashback)**_

* * *

_Smiling softly, curious blue eyes looked around in slight suspicion. Eyeing the woods, he nodded when he saw, nor heard nothing of notice. Turning to the lake, he visibly brightened as the lake seemed to glow under the full moon high in the sky. Speaking of moon…looking up, his gaze lingered on the sole orb that hovered high in the heavens._

_Smile widening slightly, he giggled slightly for reason's he couldn't explain. The moon always felt…familiar to him. It was a comfort to him in the way. Reluctantly turning away from it, he gazed at his nee-chan sleeping peacefully against the bark of the tree. She must have been pretty tired when she finished playing with him._

_Tilting his head forward in thought, his lips dropped into a small frown. He didn't want to wake her. She looked so pretty when she's asleep. But…it's not safe outside tonight. It's his birthday, so even if no one knows about this place, he needs to take her somewhere safe. Nodding in resolution at that, he was about to crawl forward towards her only to freeze. A stray memory passing by reminding him of the last time he woke her when she was sleeping._

_Flustering in embarrassment at the thought, he shook his head trying to get rid of the smile off his face. Though embarrassing, it was fun and made him laugh all the same. She was warm. Not in a literal sense…but even though he always feels cold, even though he always felt as if there was a hole in his heart. Cecilia-nee always manages to fill it up with warmth_

_Just as he was about to move forward, his ear's twitched. The sound of crickets singing through the night, he liked it, but the way it sounded made him frown. Turning to his left, he was met with a familiar pair of blood red eyes and yelped when its owners pounced on him. The sound jolting Cecilia wide awake with sharp amethyst eyes as she homed in on the source. After a couple moments, a brief giggle escaped her lips. Her little fishcake was laughing helplessly on his back while being mercilessly slobbered on by an excitable puppy._

_Noting that Naruto saw her giggling, he reached towards her for help only for Cecilia to wave and giggle. After a couple more moments of watching him helplessly struggle, she laughed and pulled him away from the puppy. A puppy who had deep red eyes and a light brown coat with its tail batting against the ground from side to side._

_Putting him on her lap, she giggled when he glared childishly. "You're so mean Cecilia-nee-chan!" He pouted with a huff. He's so adorable!_

"_Eh~…maybe I should just give you back then!" She pondered thoughtfully._

_ Blinking, Naruto turned back to the puppy and stared. The dog wagging his tail back and forth while tilting its head to the side in curiosity, Naruto tilted his head in the opposite direction. Mischievous glints lighting in the dog's eyes, Naruto's own sharpened at the challenge and they both continued to stare unblinkingly._

_ While they were having there little stare off, Cecilia could only watch in amusement as sparks seem to fly between them. Running her fingers through his hair, her smile widened a tad when he squirmed under her touch. After a couple seconds, the dog seemed to meet her eyes for a moment before barking. After that, it scampered off into the woods. "Is it okay for your dog to run off like that?" She asked curiously. "It's awfully dark out."_

_ When Naruto didn't answer, she simply frowned and looked down. Brows furrowing, she saw him staring blankly at the woods. Right at the spot where the dog left from with an unknown emotion in his eyes...an emotion she very well did not like. Brows ticking, she pulled at his cheeks making shocking him out of his little daze._

_ Rubbing his cheeks thoughtfully, he looked back towards Cecilia-nee. Chuckling nervously after at the look in her eyes, he smiled when her eyes softened and pulled him closer into a hug. "Cecilia-nee…it's pretty late now. Aren't your parents worried about you coming home so late?"_

_ Raising a brow at that, she simply hummed in thought. "Well, my mother doesn't really worry about me staying out late."_

_ "What about your father?" He asked. _

_ Expression blanking, she sighed in mild exasperation at the thought. "…Well, he doesn't really mind, but I accidentally let it slip that I'm meeting with a boy."_

_ Eye's narrowing at that for a moment, he frowned. "You are?" He asked curiously._

_ Noticing his tone, she smiled mischievously. "That's right. When I told my father about this boy, he wanted to come by himself and have a chat with him. You know, male bonding and all that strange stuff."_

'Ah…guess fathers aren't so useless after all…besides being a sperm donor that is.'_ Naruto thought darkly behind a curious innocent smile. "So did he have a chat with him then?" Yes, did they have a __**chat?**_

_ Cupping her cheeks, she sighed in amused exasperation. "Not really, Mother threatened to have him tied to the couch if he even tried." She commented airily. "Though I think he would have done it anyway if she hadn't threatened to have his spine realigned?" She really was an understanding woman to deal with her father for so long._

_ Closing his eyes, Naruto nodded in slight confusion. _'Ah…so the man was useless after all.'_ It wasn't all that unexpected after all; though the spine realignment sounds useful…maybe __**he**__ should have a chat with this boy? "He sounds like he really cares about you!" He commented idly. He sounds like the complete opposite of his own father._

_ Eye's twitching in fond annoyance, she simply huffed. "He does, but it gets a bit overbearing sometimes when he starts threatening all the boys that are within twenty feet of me. If I recall, one of them got to close for comfort and he disappeared for around three weeks. When he was found, he was found in an underground sewer muttering about rabid marshmallows." And that was when she was four. "Mother banned him from his comfort zone for a week after that."_

_ Staring with genuine curiosity, he pondered on that for a moment. _'Rabid Marshmallows…?'_ Interesting, maybe he should look into attacking food later in the future. "…So, what does this boy look like?" Yes, tell him the name of the soon to be fertilizer! It probably wouldn't do much for the trees, but it's the thought that counts!_

_ Looking down at the child suspiciously, Cecilia frowned. "Fishcake~, you're not planning anything are you?" She asked with a doubtful glint in her eyes. "Or is that jealousy I hear?" She teased ruffling his hair much to the boy's fond annoyance._

_ "Of course I'm not jealous!" Who'd be jealous of a corpse? "I'm just curious about whose taking your time." He mumbled weakly._

_ Staring for a couple moments, she hummed silently to herself before sighing. Taking the boy off her lap, much too said boy's disappointment, she turned him around facing her. "Well~, he has blonde spiky hair." She started making Naruto twitch. "He has lightly tanned skin." Eye's slitting momentarily in anticipation, Naruto nodded with an innocent smile plaster on his face. "He has the brightest cerulean blue eyes." His own eyes darkening at the thought, his lips twitched to a small frown at the familiar picture. "And he has the most pinchable whiskered cheeks I've ever seen!" And before the words even registered in his mind, Naruto found his cheeks being lightly pinched by a giggling female._

_ Pulling himself away, he scowled as he rubbed his aching red cheeks. Guess he'll have to take a rain check if the boy is him. But for now, he decided to crawl back into Cecilia-nee's lap much to her amusement and pulled her arms over him in a make-shift hug. After a couple seconds of silence, he relished the feeling of her fingers running softly through his hair. He just wished that it could stay like this forever._

* * *

_**(Several Yards Away)**_

* * *

_Panting, he stumbled forward falling towards the ground scraping his arms. Sweat pouring down his skin in spades; he had long since abandoned his torch during this accursed night. Ear's twitching, he got back to his feet and continued running. It was coming for him. It had already gotten to his allies. It had torn them to shreds. It had ripped apart their limps. It had __**eaten**__ them. And as far as he knew, he turn was quickly coming._

_ As if on cue, a piercing shout echoed in the forest. Snapping branches and the sound of ripping flesh following soon behind, his eyes widened in fear as he forced his already strained legs to move faster._

_ It wasn't supposed to be like this. Tonight was finally going to be the night. They would finally avenge their loved ones that were lost all those years ago. They would finally get rid of the stain the trailed behind their beloved Yondaime-sama. But no, it was not to be._

_ Seeing something flash red on the corner of his eyes, he jerked to the side in shock and fear. Tears dripping down his cheeks, he forced himself forward again. Somehow, someway, the demon child had brought backup. It had brought friends and allies. The same allies were no doubt responsible for all the disappearances within this very forest._

_ So filled with fear, he never felt the shift in air. So focused was he on escaping, the gleaming pairs of red trailed behind unnoticed. So intent he was to continue living, he never noticed the change in scent. But after he made those next few meters, it was already too late. When he finally crossed the threshold beyond the trees, he found himself in a clearing._

_ A clearing that was painted in red as the metallic scent of iron rammed into his senses without remorse. His form stumbling forward in repulsion, his eyes flickered towards the chunks of flesh that lied displayed on the ground around him. Crows and ravens tilting their heads to the sides at his sudden arrival, they stared for but a moment before pecking at the dead flesh. Their feathers and beaks coated in blood, his eyes flickered towards the other animals that feasted._

_ There were pups. There were baby foxes. There were kittens. There were bear cubs, wolf cubs, small slithering snakes. Maggots writhing in the cartilage and skin, he jerked to the side as he emptied his stomach at his sides. Gasping for air, he pinched his nose shut trying to block out the scent of iron._

_ He was shaking. He was scared. He was repulsed. He felt all kinds of emotions pass through his being as he eyed the scene before him. There was not a single grown animal within the premises. The only ones being their young offspring coating themselves in human's life liquid, he found that it would have been better if there was. After a couple silent moments, he dropped back on the ground when he tried to move._

_Trying to crawl away from the scene, he felt something nibbling at his fingers and turned. A small brown kitten biting into fingers drawing blood, it's slitted blood red eyes reminding him so much of another. He jerked in shocked fear and sent the kitten flying against the nearest tree. Its body splattering and cracking at its bark, he froze as the sound seemed to ring throughout the area. Turning forward, he found dozens of pairs of red staring at him unblinkingly. Their lips pulling back in a snarl showing their shark like teeth. Their visages darkening to a pitch black shade as their blood red eyes brightened._

_ In but a moment, they parted their teeth releasing a shriek of emotions that seemed to resonate with the wind around them. Leaves and feathers spiraling wildly around the area blocking everything from sight as the wind picked up. Screaming in fear, he closed his eyes shut and curled up in a ball. Whispers reaching his ears as the wind roared higher and higher into the sky. Childish innocent laughter ringed in his ears before twisting into sadistic leers and eyes that seemed to split open within the darkness around him. Just as he thought seconds were turning into centuries, he froze._

_"Papa…"__ Slowly opening his eyes, he shook as the word echoed in his mind. __"Papa…opens them…."__ The voice whispered making him look forward. The wind dying down in response, he ignored the feathers and leaves digging and slicing into his skin in favor for searching for the voice. __"Papa…let me see…"__ Looking ahead, he never noticed the change in scenery._

_ He never noticed the lack in animals, the lack in blood, and the lack of bodies. His attention was solely on the one. His attention was solely on the small brown haired boy standing just in front of a tree. A small smile playing on his lips, he stared at him with his chocolate brown eyes. His hands outstretched forward as if expecting a hug. __"Papa…I missed you."__ He whispered warmly._

_ Nodding dumbly, tears dripped down his cheeks in spades as he crawled forward. He tried to speak, but whenever he opened his lips, he could never find the words to say. He didn't know why, but for some reason, as he continued to move forward, he felt something empty inside him…he felt it slowly filling up. "…Ra…ki…"_

_ His son once thought dead didn't move, but if anything, his child's eyes lit up in what seemed to be joy. __"Papa…remembered…"__ His child whispered. Nodding slowly, happiness finally coming into the forefront of his mind, he stopped right in front of his son, Raki, and pulled him into a tight hug. "I missed you…so much…" He sobbed hoarsely._

_ Smiling softly, Raki returned his father's hug and pressed his chin into his shoulders. __"It…was so dark…papa…" __He whispered tightening his grip. __"…It was so…cold…so lonely…I was scared papa…so very scared…"_

_ Running his fingers through his son's brown locks, he tightened his grip on him scared that if he let go, that his son might disappear again. "I'm here Raki…papa's here…" He sobbed. So deep in his sorrowful happiness, he never noticed the eyes that seemed to split open in the darkness around him. His son nuzzling softly into him before parting opens his lips. His eyes flashing a deep red shade, he whispered, __"…I'm hungry papa…"__ Opening his mouth wide, his shark like teeth glinted. The shadows around them closing in, the last thing he saw was his son's smiling face and he felt at peace._

* * *

_**(With Naruto)**_

* * *

_A smile making its way to his lips, Naruto snuggled further into his elder sister's form. "Ah…Cecilia-nee…" He whispered softly. "…What does marry mean?"_

_ Hearing her fishcake's voice, she was brought out of her musings. Her earlier thoughts on that strange energy she felt in the forest all but vanishing. "Marry…" She repeated with a smile. "If I recall, marry is something that only happens when two people love each other very, very much." She said with a giggle. "But even then, when they truly feel that they want to take the next step, to spend the rest of their lives together, that is when they truly marry. Husband and Wife, a holy matrimony in where they are forever together in sickness and health…never to be apart as long as the breathe life." _'Something that never truly happens anymore…'_ She thought sadly._

_ Pondering her words for a moment, Naruto looked up towards the moon with an unknown expression. "Ah…then it's decided." He said with a wide grin. "My first and foremost important goal has finally been decided!"_

_ Giggling at his enthusiasm, she wasn't all that surprised when he suddenly turned around on her lap. "Ara, Ara; would you please tell this adorably beautiful girl what would your goal be then, my little fishcake?" She asked with a mock graceful tone._

_ "I will have you be my Wife Cecilia-nee!" He proclaimed with a wide fox like grin. "I don't ever want you to leave me, and I love you lots, so in order to do that, you have to be my Wife!" Seeing him nod proudly at his so called 'brilliant' plan, she could only shake her head in amusement._

_ Ruffling his hair much to the child's chagrin, her smile widened. "That's an admirable goal, my little fishcake." She said making his ego grow a tad. "Though if you truly plan on marrying me, you have to defeat an incredibly powerful enemy," Leaning closer as if wanting to tell a secret, she pulled Naruto into a hug when he leaned closer surprising him. "As I told you before, my father is incredibly protective, so to marry me, you have to…" Trailing off, she watched as confusion showed itself in his eyes before realization shown through._

_ "I have to beat up your papa." He mumbled in realization. "…Ah…I'll win!" He proclaimed with a serious look in his eyes. "I promise to you, that I, Uzumaki Naruto, shall have you as my Wife with me as your Husband!" He vowed saluting her._

_ Raising an amused brow at his proclamation, she giggled before ruffling his hair again. Wonder how he got it so soft…it's just like fur. "So cute," She mumbled. Pity her father is still be a tight-ass about this. Maybe she should get mothers help? "Well then my cute Maelstrom Knight, I'll be waiting for the day where you defeat the dreaded being called my father!" She said dramatically. "But alas…now you must surrender to my cuddles my adorable fishcake!" And before he had a chance to react, he was pulled into another hug while Cecilia squealed on how cute he looked being all serious and such._

* * *

_**(Flashback End—Sea of Memories)**_

* * *

Chuckling softly, cerulean blue gazed around his surroundings and grinned. There was no land. There was no sky. But everywhere he saw, he couldn't help but smile at the light. Thinking of the crystal clear lake from before, he nodded at the sight. Cause underwater was where he was, and despite the light there was no sun. Just an ocean of blue with bubbles and dew…

As well as that door that's currently slowly gyrating right above him. Gaze lingering on it, he shook his head before looking ahead. A small rectangular panel hovering right in front of him, he watched the memory pass by. He listened to his declaration, and frowned. Tapping its surface with his hand, it rippled for but a moment before vanishing into the water around him. **The Sea of Memories**…this place is aptly named.

Waving his hand, he crossed his legs into a sitting position as another panel formed in a spiral of bubbles and foam. Tapping it, the surface rippled for a moment before the screen darkened. A variety of colors shifting and melding together before an image was formed. Eyeing it, he unconsciously flexed his fingers as the memory played.

* * *

_**(Flashback)**_

* * *

_…It was so cold…so very, very cold. Once where there was fulfillment, there is now an empty abyss. Once where there was nothing but a single star in his realm of darkness, it has now all been devoured by the black. Slowly opening his eyes, he rested his lied against the tree trunk with an empty look in his eyes. His form, the ground beneath, the trees base behind, everything; it was all covered in red._

_ …He didn't want to move. He didn't want to see…to remember…to feel. He didn't want it at all, but no matter how many times he tried, no matter how many attempts, her face always comes to mind. Her smile…her laughs…her warmth…everything about her keeps him from completely snapping._

_ Ear's twitching, he lied completely still as a dull echo reached his ears over the pitter patter of the rain. Eyes shifting forward, he watched as several black shapes walked out of the woods. Torches, and pitchforks; butcher knife's and rusty tools; any and all you could name, he is now seeing it._

_ He knew they were people, humans, but in his eyes, they were nothing but blank black shapes. Their forms ever-shifting forms in the crowds with round white eyes and screeches that annoyed his ears. Staring at them, he straightened his back against the tree trunk after a couple moments. Hearing something jingle from his movement, he looked down and stared at the pendant with his dull blue eyes._

_ …fingering it for a moment, he slowly stood back up on his own two feet. Pendant clutched between his fingers, eyes shadowed by his bangs, he simply stood there seemingly ignoring the crowd of incited shapes. Staring at the pendant, a broken smile made its way to his lips as memories of her started to flash in the forefront of his mind._

_ The crowd of black had other thoughts in mind. In a streak of black, Naruto twitched and turned to his right. A kunai embedded into the tree behind him and blood dripping from his left cheek…his blood. Looking forward, he eyed the shifting mass of black rage and crawl ever so closer to him. Rage and anger clear in their eyes, shouts and screeches piercing through the night as the flames on their torches flickered back and forth. Staring at them, his cerulean eyes flashed a blood red shade. The whites of his eyes sinking into an inky black, he gritted his teeth as his thoughts on the cause of tonight raged into his mind._

_ It was there fault. They hurt him. They hate him. They blame him. They make him bleed. They make him scream. They make him cry. They make him angry. They made her sad because of this. They made her angry. They made her guilty. They made her get hurt. They made her bleed. They made her go away. They killed her. __**They took her away from him. THEY TOOK HER AWAY!**_

_ Parting opens his lips, he took a deep breath and his eyes shifted into pupiless red over black. Exhaling, a resounding shock-wave of sound vibrated throughout the night. The pressure around them increasing in several bursts, the ground cracked and the trees splintered. The air shifted. The rain pounded the ground like rampaging drums. The wind raged through the forest._

_ Unlike the song from before, this was but a cry of rage. This was a cry of sorrowful anguish and distress. His sadness followed by the rain as pounded down onto the earth. The wind answered to his rage as they drove faster and faster forcing their way through the forest in mighty gales. The increasing pressure slamming the masses of black into the ground was powered by his anguish. The forest itself responding to his call of distress; hundreds of blood red eyes snapped open within the darkness. Their shadowy forms streaked through the trees and skies following the call of their Origin._

_ In but moments, the pressure increased in a burst of sound as the ground around them splintered and cracked. His cry gaining an echoing after affect as the wind spread it along the surrounding area's in pained ghostly whispers. Cracks forming around his throat, wisps of black erupted around him in a transparent dome of power. Ominous amethyst lines forming along the veins of his skin, the black masses could do nothing but scream into the night as shifting black streaks spiraled around the child like spectral wraiths. Cracks forming along his fingertips in response, his hair began to darken to a pitch black shade._

_ Fingers clutching tightly to his pendant, he stared ahead as his cry echoed into the night. His cheeks cracked for but a moment, he stared down at the masses of black below. Before he could react, a searing pain erupted deep within his very being. His skin brightening a deep golden color as several other rays of light erupted from the lines of his skin. In but a moment, the land around was engulfed in a blanket of gold as the cry of anguish and distress was silenced._

_ The wind slowly died down. The pressure lifted. The shadows of black streaked away into the darkness. The rain softly dripped onto the earth. He shifts in air returned to normal. When the light slowly began to die down as well, the black masses of people slowly returned to looking light regular humans in the eyes of the child. His form dropping back unknowingly into someone's arms instead of the tree, he looked up. The last thing he made out was a veil of snow white and warm red eyes._

_ Hugging the child close to her after a couple moments, the woman looked ahead and frowned softly at the carnage. The mob of humans being nothing but bruised and misshapen corpses, she flicked her wrists and the shadows snapped forward devouring the remains._

_ Looking down, she noticed the black in his hair and scowled before running her fingers into his hair. The black dissolving away into snow white slits on the centers of his spikes. Nodding after a couple moments, she snapped her fingers and the cracks on his skin slowly mended along with the amethyst lines slowly dissolving into his skin._

_ …craning her head around, she stared at the bloody tree, and frowned. Turning her attention back to the child, she traced her fingers along his tear stained cheeks. "…this has got to stop." She whispered. Eye's sharpening; her eyes flashed a demonic amethyst before the forest erupted in a world of grey. "This stops __**now!"**_

* * *

_**(Flashback end)**_

* * *

Swiping at the panel, it dissolved into the water with but a touch. Eye's dim and dull; he thought about that particular memory and frowned. So many memories, so much time…but in the end, does being here bring one solace of distress?

Snorting at his own question, he chuckled. "When did I start thinking like a philosopher?" He asked himself. Eye's turning towards the hovering door; he simply had to wonder what they're doing on the other side. He hasn't really heard much about the incident from Ashe…but he'll have to leave it for now. Waving off the door, it dissolved into the sea. Feeling something split, he smiled as he traced the crack below his right eye.

* * *

_**(Reality)**_

* * *

Nodding his head at that, Royal's eye's twitched momentarily as he eyed the motionless boy. Naruto's eye's being a red on black with the white slits in his hair shifting into a pitch black hue. Attention drifting down, he noted that the gaping hole in the boy's chest was still there. Honestly, the only thing he would need is a bone white mask and a change from red over black to yellow over black, and he'd be just like those corrupted souls a couple dimensions over. _'…Ah…that lazy guy had a good weapon.'_ Maybe he could make something similar to those pistols of the guy?

Thinking on it for a bit, he shrugged before leaping back a couple feet his eyes on the small black sphere that materialized in thin air. The space in front of him suddenly sucking in everything around, he backpedaled as streams of water passed by forming a giant sphere of water. In but a moment, the entire thing vanished ripping a decent sized chunk out of the lake below to be filled. Looking ahead, he was just in time to see the boy swallow with a small stream of water dripping from the corner of his lips.

Closing his eyes, Naruto reopened them after a moment's silence. Looking towards Royal, he stared with a blank expression as the man stared at him with curiosity. Familiar royal blue eyes overlapping with innocent amethyst, he parted open his lips and the air around them violently shook. _**"…"**_

Static being all he could hear, Royal frowned in slight confusion before the water below shifted. Body sprinting forward, the ground behind him erupted in a single spiraling spike of water that stretched high into the sky. Eye's dilating slightly, the moment his right foot touched water, he leaned his body forward and shot forward like a bullet escaping another spike. His form being nothing but a blur followed by a trail of splitting water and rising spikes.

Swerving towards the motionless boy, he scowled when he slammed his foot sideways jerking his body left. A ring of spikes erupted outwards from his previous location that would have impaled him had he continued. Skipping along the lakes surface for a couple moments, he regained his pace he shot forward swerving along the shores of the lake with the spikes trailing behind.

Eyes drifting back towards Naruto, he pulled his hood down further as to not be pulled off by the draft. He took a sharp turn left and kicked forward leaping in the air. Twisting his body around mid-air, the lake below erupted in a volley of spikes as he whipped his arms around. The sound of steel cutting air whistling as the spikes collapsed into several portions before dispersing into droplets of water that returned to its main body.

Flipping forward, a black glint streaked back into his sleeves as he landed feet first in a crouch. Shooting forward in a sprint, he swerved around the spikes that began to erupt at all sides around him. His arms snapping from side to side, black streaks shooting from the premises of his sleeves as the erupting spikes dispersed in pieces.

_**"…"**_ Static charging in his ears, he clicked his teeth in annoyance as the erupting spikes of water shifted into spiraling tendrils that trailed behind him like those annoying heat-seeking missiles a while back. Snorting softly at the thought, he leaned forward further as his body streaked forward in a black blur. The tendrils of water trailing behind relentlessly, he swerved and twisted around the surface of the lake as they increased in numbers by the dozen. More of them erupting from his sides as well as his front, his eyes snapped towards the expressionless child further ahead. He shielded his front with his arms as the surrounding tendrils gathered all around him before spiraling down.

Without warning, he kicked forward against the water shooting forward like a bullet. The tendrils stabbing harmlessly into empty space, Royal was yards, meters, feet, and just as he was inches away, he slashed forward along the boy's neck. _**"…"**_ Arms shifting forward in a defensive manner, the area around Naruto erupted in spiraling tendrils of water burst outwards slamming him back several meters along the lakes surface. Skidding to a halt, he nearly growled in annoyance before noting the state of the boy's limbs. They were no longer emanating any sort of light whatsoever. _'Ah…how did I not notice that?'_ He mumbled in thought.

The spiraling tendrils connected at the tip right above Naruto's head creating a protective dome. _**"…"**_ Ignoring the static of his words, Royal frowned in irritation at not understanding the boy's words. But from what he does know, is that things are going to get annoying. Small threads of water and wind formed into clones of the boy outside of his spiraling dome.

Eye's twitching, Royal hummed in annoyed melancholy. "You know…" Flexing his fingers, he kept his eyes on the copies. "Something about this scene seems really familiar." He commented idly, his thoughts momentarily on a Nymph that he played around with a while back. Rolling his eyes at the thought, his lips twitched upwards into an amused smirk as the clones charged forward in groups of two with one staying back. "…This'll be fun."

* * *

_**(With Naruto)**_

* * *

Pain rippling through his head, Naruto simply stared blankly as his clones attacked with fever. Their forms circling around Royal while striking one by one. Twisting and turning, dodging and deflecting; oh how many times has he watched as Shinobi wasted their clone's actual ability!

Blood dripping from his nose, with a jerk of his chin, several more clones of water and wind formed by threads before charging in eyes filled with his will. Blood pumping through his ears, he ignored the constant stinging that came with each clone. He simply watched. He watched as the small ring surrounding Royal soon became a maelstrom of colors.

His clones attacking from all sides relentlessly as one attack followed another. As one's deflection lead into another's chance. One's missed attack leading into another's trap. But in the midst of it all, the most prominent of colors was a slivering black. The sole color whispering through the maelstrom like a storm of its own, taking out its enemies by the masses as it released its fangs and bared its claws.

With another silent jerk of his chin, he sent another batch of clones that replaced the fallen. The man didn't use any of his mana. He didn't enhance any of his limbs or heal his wounds. He simply spiraled around at the storms center striking at everything within reach, and sometimes…even beyond.

He didn't use any of the blades hidden within his cloak. He used his natural weapons, which were his arms and legs. He grabbed a hold of the clones bludgeoning the others like one would a hammer. He held back nothing. He caused wounds that would shatter skulls. He pulled with strength that would rip out spines. Turning its joints into dust, he tore through cartilage and destroyed the links keeping its altogether. All this done without hesitation, all this done without a single sense of remorse…jerking his chin forward, the water and wind spiraled around him in gusts of power. After a couple moments, he was surrounded by clones by the dozens, and with a single thought, sent them forward.

_**"…"**_ Ear's twitching, he watched passively as the attacking clones dispersed into their respective elements. But instead of vanishing, they spiraled forward around Royal's form and area creating a large dome of water and wind. Tilting his head forward, the dome began to rise in the air with its other half rising out of the lake. Staring at the sphere of water, his eyes lingered on Royal who simply floated there at its epicenter. Streams of wind and water circling around it in thin hovering rings, the sphere stopped its ascent several yards in the air. Its diameter being a full thirty-six meters, his lips curled into a short grimace as Royal tried to escape. Clones forming with the sphere's space as a result blocking his path.

_**"…"**_ While the clones kept the man busy within the sphere, he watched as it suddenly shrunk in size in a single burst of sound. _**"…"**_ The spiraling rings surrounding the sphere sped up, their forms becoming nothing more than gyrating rings of blue and green. _**"…"**_ The clones sped up, their forms speeding through the sphere in blurs chasing after and striking at Royal's blind spots…which didn't seem to be working as he reacted moments before the attack was even made. It kept him busy none the less. Parting open his lips, he froze as a crack sounded near his ears. Stopping, he frowned. _**"…"**_ The crack sounded again, but the sphere decreased in size in another burst once again.

Picking up his hand, he traced his fingers along his left cheek. Stopping at an unfamiliar sensation, he stared at the barrier surrounding him and stared. A crack forming right underneath his left eye, his form overlapped suddenly with Cecilia's, and he froze. Reaching out with the same hand, his fingers softly touched the surface of the barrier, and Cecilia's image vanished with the ripples. His own coming back into view, he lingers there for a moment before turning to the sphere above.

"…" Another crack sounded, but he ignored it as the sphere decreased in size in another burst of sound. Its diameter being a full twelve meters instead of thirty-six. The rings trailed behind as they sliced into the edges of the sphere melding together with it. His clones had all but vanished within its space, but the pressure keeping the man in place. _**"…"**_ Lips twitching; spear tipped chains of water rose out from the deeps of the lake below. Their forms stabbing through the sphere above, he watched as Royal's form stopped its struggle. Jerking his head down, the sphere shot down like a bullet abruptly stopping inches above the lakes surface. Several more chains of water spiraling around the sphere and through, _**"…"**_ it all stopped.

Raising his right arm, he pointed his palm straight at the sphere ahead. Layers and layers of chains wrapped around the sphere's surface, all but a single diamond shaped opening. At within the sphere's epicenter, Royal hovered bound in chains with several spears sticking out of his body. The bottom half of the rings rotated near the man's limbs, ready to sever them at a moment's notice.

His own barrier shattering into fragmented ice, he parted open his lips. _**"…"**_ A red sphere materializing at the palm of his hand, he flooded his being with cold warmth. Cracks began to form along his fingertips and up his hands. A sudden vacuum drawing in the ice fragments and trailing streams of wind and water. Condensing it, he kept it at the size of a small ball. Right eye flashing a deep cerulean blue, only one word popped into the forefront of his mind. _**"Sayonara."**_

And the world in front of him exploded in beam of red and blue. The blast imploding on contact with the chained sphere, but not phasing out of existence; crimson winds spreading wildly seemingly absorbing everything it touches. Slowly growing in size, spread and power; racing towards its newest victims like mad starving wraiths; their screeches piercing the bright sky, eliciting ominous howls from the unknown creatures living in the surrounding trees; a feeling of overwhelming dread washing over the area in a torrent of cold unforgiving waters. The last thing being seen was a small wisp of deep amethyst shine that was soon enveloped by the deep crimson winds.

Arm falling limply by his side, Naruto panted in exertion. His right arm littered with cracks from fingers to shoulder. Sweat dripping from his cheeks, he tried to regain control of his breathing only to stumble forward. Slamming his left foot forward, he stopped his fall before regaining his bearings. Picking himself up, he froze as his mind began to spin. His vision blurring, he blinked in surprise as he exhaustion began to set in.

Feeling searing pain stabbing through his right, he looked down as his vision began to clear. Blood seeping through the cracks on his arm, he felt something warm streaming down his right cheek and frowned. Black vanishing into white, his sole red eye shifted back into its cerulean blue hue. Nodding absently after a moment, blood escaped his lips.

Eye's once again drifting down, his eyes sparked with realization. Blood escaping from the gaping hole in his torso, he shook his head and reached towards his neck with his left arm. Pulling out a familiar tear shaped pendant, his frown shifted into a soft smile in response. Humming in thought, he was about to turn around when a sense of dread flooded the clearing. Looking ahead, his eyes flashed a deep blood red shade. His form vanishing in a swirl of wind, he reappeared right in front of Cecilia's grave much to his surprise. Before he could even react though, his right arm shot forward regardless of the searing pain coursing through its veins. His eyes meeting frosty royal blue before the sound of slicing wind reached his ears.

Blood splattering the ground besides him, he watched as his arm spun wildly in the air. Left arm stabbing forward, the cloaked man simply batted it away. The sounds of cracking reaching his ears as he felt the bones in his arms shatter. Hand slamming against his throat, Naruto's body snapped back crashing into a tree. Fingers clasping around his neck, he looked forward and stared into cold blue eyes.

"Crimson winds…" Royal mumbled under his breath. "You really are a strange child." Tightening his hold on the boy's neck, he mentally shook his head in reluctance. _'Such a waste…'_ He thought calmly. What is he, thirteen…no...fourteen! _'Tell me girl, is this the potential that you so believed in?'_ Worlds were child soldiers are the norm…a world where young shed blood…a world where innocence is only for the weak.

"Tell me Ashe…is this, the kind of world that you wanted?" He asked the child. After a couple moments of silence, Naruto didn't respond, but when he did, a completely different voice came out of his lips instead.

"_You speak as if your world would be any better."_ Naruto commented in Ashe's voice. Body shining in golden radiance, Royal was forced to let go as spears of light erupted from his surroundings intent on impaling his form. Jumping back on the shores of the lake, he waited for the light to die down. And when it did, Naruto's body was all but healed. The gaping hole in his chest slowly vanished with his right arm all but returning to its place with the cracks melding together. His blonde spiky hair lightening to a snow white shade, Naruto's body simply flashed once more revealing a feminine form bathed in light.

"…So you're not going to show your form." He commented in a bitter tone. "Do you still hate me after all these years?" Leaping back, he dodged the spears of light that stabbed into the shores of the lake. "Guess that answers my question."

"_I was wondering why the girl this boy is so fond of seemed familiar."_ Ashe commented, a frown recognizable in the tone of her formless shape. _"To think she'd be related to you. I can see the resemblance." _She commented softly. A barrier of light forming in front of her, she didn't flinch when blood red javelins of electricity slammed into it coming to a standstill before fizzling out of existence. Royal's fingers sparking with red as a cold emotionless frown overcame his hidden features.

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't talk bad about my family." He said in a breathless whisper.

"_And I'd appreciate if you didn't attack mine."_ Ashe retorted causing a small ominous grin to replace Royal's frown.

"Family…you're treating the boy as family?" He questioned in a light tone. "Even after everything you've done. Even after everything you've ruined, you think you have the right to a family!" Laughing softly, Royal shook his head in suppressed laughter. After a couple moments of silence, the laughter died down as he looked right into what he assumed to be Ashe's eyes. "You're serious about this, aren't you?" He asked eyes hardening.

Not dignifying him with a response, Ashe simply glared as the air around her shook. Before she could even react though, her own power was quickly drowned out by Royal's as the entire clearing shook for a single moment. Staring back at the man unflinchingly, she was about to speak when he sighed in exasperation.

"You do know that the only reason **they** haven't found out about you is because I'm here, right?" He asked with a raised brow.

"_I was doing fine before you even showed up."_ She snapped irritably. _"But because of this little display as well as the one two days prior, it'll be harder for me to keep the boy hidden from __**them**__ due to the Mana excluding in a now __**Chakra**__ based world!"_ Glaring at the innocently whistling imbecilic; oh she wished that she could strangle the fool for old time's sake. _"How did you even know I was here to begin with?"_

Snorting in amusement, Royal hummed in amusement. "Oh please, hiding things from me is like hiding them from death itself…which is ironic," Stopping for a moment, he cackled. "Because I got the information **from** Death after beating it in an eating match…" Ah…there was so much to eat!

Resisting the urge to palm her face, she decided to slap the man instead just for her amusement…that quickly turned into annoyance as the being she slapped faded out of existence with said man standing right beside her putting his arm over her shoulders. Something she nearly **dis**armed, had he not stopped her with his next couple of of words.

"And speaking of death..." Eye's narrowing into slits; he slid back along the surface of the lake as wisps of black began to emanate from his form. "Protecting that boy will only bring destruction, and I will stand only for oh so much..." Disappearing in a vortex of darkness, he simply left her with six parting words that made her eyes harden in glacial fury.

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_**Ah...I hope you liked the chapter. Please...review and give me you're opinions and questions.**_


	14. Chapter 13

_**AH...I do not own Naruto, but any and all original characters are mine.**_

_**Chapter 13**_

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**_thor94: Good question...one that I'm not likely to fully...answer due to the spoiler's...it will give. But if look back to chapter 13...at the Flashbacks, you'll notice...that the civilians came after Cecilia left. The answer is...the flashbacks...and the new question is...what took Cecilia away? I'm sorry...if my answer is vague...at best._**

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"…I feel as if I should be cursing someone, but I don't know who." Naruto deadpanned with a twitching brow. "So I'll just curse you instead Aka-chan!" He growled in irritation. Struggling to move his arms, he jerked his body back and forth only to hum in annoyance as the chains held firm. Turning towards the innocently whistling red head, he raised a single brow in question. "How the hell did you even get close enough to tie me up!?" No one's ever done that before!

Feeling several eyes on him, he snapped his head around the classroom and narrowed his eyes into slits. "What, do I look like I'm on display or something?" He snapped at Natsumi's remaining classmates…which only seemed to be two. One of them flinched away much to his satisfaction, but the other simply glared back at him much to his annoyance.

Eye's twitching; he glared back at the boy and hummed in annoyance before returning to getting out of his confines…or at least attempting to. Seriously, how many locks are on this thing? Ear's twitching, he rattled the chains for a couple moments before humming in reluctance. Dropping his shoulders, he huffed. "Can you at least tell me why I'm here?" He asked his deviously grinning sister.

Giggling, she smiled. "Well, since **you** won't be making any headway into repairing our already crumbling relationship, the least I could do is take charge." Ignoring his glare, she simply ruffled his hair like he would do to hers. But instead of biting off her hand like she thought he would have done, Naruto simply calmed down for a brief moment before pouting.

Reluctantly jerking his head away from her hand, he simply hummed in soft annoyance. _"You know she does have a point there Fishcake!"_ Ashe commented with a wry grin. _"You can't really start something if you don't even plan on starting it to begin with."_

'…_Good point, but what can I say,'_ He admitted with a mental shrug. _'My schedule was full.'_

"_Your schedule involved sleeping half the day while finding and teasing Kokoro into a blushing mess."_ She deadpanned. _"While the latter would be amusing, I feel as if the former would just annoy the heck out of me. Besides attacking/feeding my pet with mutated furries, I don't really have anything else to do in here."_ Eye's twitching in annoyance, she huffed. _"So you can see my reluctance on letting you sleep half the day away when I could be seeing come quality amusement."_

'…_is my life some sort of Television show to you?'_ He asked in a bland tone.

"_Yup," _She chirped bluntly. _"While a horrible drama in the beginning that made me want to rip the fabric of space and time again before throwing said annoyances in said rip to forever wander in the vacuum of nothingness before being forcefully and painfully torn apart from the inside out, I found that messing with your life would bring me some amusement in your otherwise dreary life."_

Staring blankly at that, he simply sighed inwardly in exasperation. What can he do? She's an Ashe after all. _"Hey! My name is not-hold it…"_ Rubbing her chin in contemplative thought, she grinned. _"That's right! I'm an Ashe, and my name is Ashe! There can only be one person this beautiful after all!"_ She commented airily running her fingers through her hair.

"**I'd question her sanity kit, but then I'd remember that she never had any."** Kurama grunted putting in his two cents Waiting for a couple seconds to see whether she'd react, he frowned when nothing happened. Turning his head, he yelped as a torrent of flames shot over his head singing his fur. Eye's snapping towards the origin, a growl escaped his lips as an army of familiar rabbits came into view.

Right in front of him was a monster that stood at a full seven yards height while standing on its hind legs. Its torso being disturbingly human shaped with equally disturbing muscles on its human shaped arms with claw tipped fingers. Its head was larger, but it was basically the same besides the slitted pupils in its red eyes and the streams of fire and smoke emanated from its red nose. He noted its bucktooth being split in two with the tip being sharpened to a dagger like serrated tip, its other teeth being equally as sharp but much more numerous in numbers. Whatever skin he saw before had now been replaced with onyx scales that glinted ominously in the sunlight. Black veins popping out from under the scales like an intricate network of borders considering the small red stream of blood flowing through them. Its ears were sharper and its feet were much longer with claws jutting out of each toe.

Jaw nearly dropping at the sight, Naruto's eyes bulged in shock at the image Kurama shared with him through his eyes. _'THAT IS NOT A FUCKING RABBIT-TTEBAYO!'_ He mentally shouted losing his cool for the first time in a while.

"**My words exactly kit."** Kurama muttered in response. Crimson eyes turning to a cackling snow haired woman, Naruto's dropped when Kurama unknowingly shared what she looked like.

She has long waist length snow white hair that cascaded gently down her back. Her sharp doe like blood red eyes and button like nose making her look cute despite her triangular shaped face. She wore a long sleeved black shirt and dark blue khaki pants over her lean and shapely form. Her fair skin making her look almost angelic in the darkness, but ominous as her blood red eyes glinted with mischievousness. Standing at a height of '5'07'', he shook his head back and forth when it looked as if she was looking right at him.

Grinning, she snapped her fingers and the…rabbits followed. Eye's glinting in amusement, she giggled as her pet disappeared into the darkness followed by the Mad Rabbits. _"Ah~…is my little fishcake in awe of my beauty!?"_ Giggling as a small flush grew on the boy's cheeks, she smiled. _"Well, now you know what I look like, and while I'd like to continue this conversation, I think it'd be better to look ahead."_ And with that, she cut off the connection with a snap.

Frowning, his flush died down as he hummed in mild curiosity. She looked similar to someone he knew, but for some reason he can't exactly remember who. Shrugging, he simply turned to see the other prisi—class-oh who is he kidding. Sitting in a near empty classroom with nothing to do…that's worthy enough for torture!

"Natsumi-san," A voice called out. "What are they doing here?"

Blinking, he stared into the darkening emerald green eyes of Haruno Sakura, a '5'04'' girl with waist length bubblegum pink hair. Her headband tied around her head like a hairband to keep her bangs out of her eyes. She has a light skin tone with her hair parted to both sides showing her larger than average forehead. She wears a red Chinese dress with four white circles. Two on her shoulder sleeves, one on her back and the last being on the bottom front of her dress that stopped at her knees. The dress splitting apart at the sides of her waist down showing her skin tight short blue shorts and wearing dark blue shinobi sandals. Did he happen to forget the permanent scowl plastered on her face whenever her eyes land on him while her lips curled in disgust.

'_If I remember correctly, she was a shy girl the first time I met her.'_ He commented airily before scowling. Pity that the budding friendship that might have helped keep his sanity was nipped in the bud by her parents and or any other biased villager. _'Despite her shy appearance, she was rather violent the day afterwards.'_ He muttered irritably. _'Wait, they?'_

Turning to his left, he blinked when he saw Kokoro chained up, and sleeping peacefully with her head on her shoulders. "Aka-chan~," Naruto called lowly. "Ignore the talking wad of gum and answer me this." Struggling against his bindings, he huffed. "If you were going to chain me up as well as Usagi-chan, why didn't you chain us up together?" He whined childishly. "I would have at least had something to cuddle with!"

Eye's twitching, she wacked him upside the head and sighed. "That's exactly why Baka-Naruto." She deadpanned. "If I wasn't so sure you'd act like a playboy I would have…" Stopping for a moment, she shook her head with a grin. "On second thought, I wouldn't have done that either way."

Pouting, he struggled for a couple moments before sighing in annoyance. Eye's twitching; he simply shrugged and placed his head on her shoulders instead. "Ah…this works to." He commented with a smile making Natsumi's eyes twitch again. Shifting his head on the crotch of her neck, he hummed comfortably at the warmth she exuded.

Vein's popping, Sakura cracked her knuckles at the blatant perverseness right in front of her. "Better yet, why is Tetsumi-san even here to begin with!" She exclaimed turning to Natsumi. "She failed the exam, so she shouldn't even be here to begin with! And you're perverted excuse of a brother didn't even go to the Academy!" She said voice rising, her last comment unknowingly catching a certain Uchiha's attention.

Smile twitching at her blatant insults, Natsumi shook her head mentally in exasperation. "Koko-chan's here as insurance," Natsumi said calmly. "Because if she wasn't here, then Naruto would have already escaped despite the chains…" Hearing the rattling of chains against wood, they both turned around to see Naruto sitting in an empty seat with Kokoro in his lap.

"Tis true." Naruto sighed dramatically. Raising his free hand, he dropped the chains to the ground next to him with a contented smirk. "Now if you need me, I'll be cuddling with my sleeping bunny." Before he even had the chance, spiraling crimson chains erupted from the ground around him. "Oh screw you Aka-chan, screw you!" And a couple moments later, he was now hanging suspended from the ceiling via Chakra Chains.

"Sorry Naruto, but I'll have to decline your offer," Natsumi retorted dismissively. "Now why don't you just hang there for a while until I think up of some bonding operations?" Turning to face the gaping Haruno, she smiled. "My parents decided that I was to watch him today to make sure he doesn't cause any chaos around the village, and the only way for him to stay put in any set location would be to have Koko-chan within the nearby vicinity. And that is why they are both here." Natsumi explained in the politest tone she had. "Does that satisfy your curiosity Sakura-san?"

Sitting right down next to his Usagi-chan, Naruto simply ignored the irritated looks his sister sent him as the remains if her chains clattered against the ground before shattering. Giving her a look, he hummed in annoyance. "If you thought I was just going to hang there while my Usagi-chan was near, then you've got another thing coming." Seeing her shake her head in expected exasperation, he shrugged in response. Feeling another's gaze on him, he turned with a frown.

Staring at Sakura unblinkingly, he watched as she glared at him with a calculative eye before huffing. Seemingly accepting his sister's explanation before walking away to continue her favorite past time. Which would be gazing at Uchiha Sasuke like the love sick puppy she was, but not before giving him the stink eye as if blaming him for taking away her time to stare at the Uchiha.

Speaking of Uchiha, he followed Sakura's gaze and frowned. She was sitting in the front of the classroom next to a raven haired boy with pale skin. His hair sticking up at the end that reminded him of a ducks but. Wearing a high collared blue shirt with white cargo shorts; his onyx eyes glaring at empty space in front of him, sporting white shin and elbow guards.

Shaking his head, he looked around the classroom lazily. Uchiha Sasuke hadn't been the only clan heir in the class. Though his clan had been reduced to two members due to a past incident, currently known as the Uchiha Massacre with the perpetrator being Sasuke's older brother Itachi. The clan's residential prodigy and second coming of Uchiha Madara in the making went insane and slaughtered his entire family leaving only his younger brother alive.

He would have investigated further for curiosities sake, but it all happened before he had enough of being the village's punching so he wasn't really able to do anything. Looking at it from now, he couldn't help but be impressed that the man managed to wipe out an entire clan in a single night…without help; yep, totally not suspicious.

Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke, and Namikaze Natsumi… _'I can just see the chaos that will result from this combination.'_ He drawled inwardly.

Shaking his head, he grinned when Kokoro unknowingly placed her head on his shoulders. While not a hopeless romantic, he always found it sweet in those romance novels how the couples would always end up together.

Ear's picking up Naruto's thoughts, Kurama scowled as his tails swatted away another pesky rabbit before he slammed his foot on another. **"See what you've done vixen."** He growled in annoyance. **"You've corrupted the boy with all that mushy gooey crap."** How is he going to mold a being of ultimate chaos if they're interested in that crap!?

Snorting in response, Ashe simply sent another horde of crazed rabbits after the fur coat. _"Excuse me, but I can cause chaos and destruction and I love romance."_ Snapping her fingers, the light around her flickered on and off ominously as she cackled in mad amusement which echoed off the walls. Her blood red eyes shining with unrelenting bloodlust and insanity, she grinned with slitted eyes as shark like teeth that seemed to split open from the shadows leered with twisting proportions.

Staring blankly at the scene, Kurama slammed his tails on the last batch of crushed rabbits. **"I said chaotic and destruction,"** He deadpanned. **"Not creepy as fuck woman."**

Giggling in response, she snapped her fingers and the shadows receded in response. _"I was going for sadistically horrifying, but creepy works to."_

Humming softly in amusement at their conversation, he grinned before frowning. Turning to his sister with a raised brow, he asked, "Exactly what did you do to Usagi-chan to make her sleep so soundly?" Not that he was complaining, but he wasn't going to go any further than a few cuddles unless she was awake. To do anything more would be just wrong.

Raising a brow at that, Natsumi took a good look at Kokoro and frowned. "I didn't really do anything." She admitted. "Koko-chan has always been a sound sleeper, so maybe it wasn't really needed to tie her up." Why did she do that to begin with anyway?

Brows furrowing at that, he hummed in thought. "…I've decided." He exclaimed after a few moments of thought. "She's moving in with me!" He told his sister with absolute certainty. Three seconds later he was once again hanging suspended in the air via crimson Chakra Chains.

Gazing at him tiredly, she sat down near the sleeping Kokoro with a suspicious frown. "I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt Naruto." She said in an eerily calm tone. "Explain, **now.**" She asked craning her head towards Kokoro's other side. Naruto's form completely free and relaxed, he sat by the window with a slothful grin on his lips. _'Third time he's managed to escape my chains, how does he do this?'_

"That's for me to know, and for you to worry your pretty little head about!" Naruto chirped ruffling her hair, chuckling good-naturedly as he pulled back his hand just in time to escape her snapping fingers. "Oh, feisty…I like it." Ignoring her razor sharp glare, he grinned. "And as for my plea for innocence, I'd feel better if she was in an area more secure and protected if she's such a heavy sleeper. With her and your new **reputation** in the village, I'd feel increasingly better if I didn't have to splatter everything in red." Nodding, he hummed in amusement. "While I like the color of red myself, I'm more of an orange type of guy myself." Plucking at the strands of his vest, he turned to the window as stared out into the village with a demented gleam in his eyes.

Slightly creeped out by her brother's sudden change in mood, she coughed getting his attention. Staring into his eyes, she recalled his use of words and frowned feeling a small shiver crawl up her spine. "Okay, I can admit that I'd be worried about that to." She confessed reluctantly. "But having her move into the Red Light District, really?" She asked with a raised brow.

Blinking at that, he shrugged. "Okay, I'll give you that." He muttered. "But I wouldn't have suggested it had I not known it would be protected and secure. Besides, no one would question any sudden disappearances should some rabid animals decide to grow suicidal and charge at a something higher on the food chain." Turning to stare at his Usagi-chan's sleeping face, a soft smile made its way to his lips. "No one would question, and no one would know." Feeling someone's eyes on him, he turned to meet coal black eyes. Uchiha Sasuke glared at him for a moment as if sizing him up, only to do the famous Uchiha 'Hn' and go back brooding. Snorting inwardly, he hummed in thought.

Watching the exchange between the two, Natsumi simply plopped her head down in her shoulders. "Naruto, sometimes you scare me." She said with a frown, eliciting a ghost of a smile from Naruto. "But I guess that's just another part of you that's escaped my notice for all these years." Now that elicited a hesitant frown. "No matter, I'm still not planning on letting her move in with you." She decided with a huff. "Who knows what your lecherous hands would do with her near they're reach!"

Blinking at the sudden change in mood, he grinned in hidden relief. He really doesn't want to get in the mood to talk about their familial problems. "Oh lecherous they may be, but it's all just innocent fun can't you see. I'm an honorable man, so something like that is something I'd ban. At the moment my rabbit is pure as I would say," He commented airily. "And I'd rather it stay that way. So just trust this mischievous teen, and you'll be surprised at what may have not yet been seen." Hearing nothing after a couple moments, he turned nervously to see three pairs of eyes staring at him.

Chuckling nervously, his cheeks flushed in light embarrassment. "Ah…was that too much?"

_"Oh god, they truly have returned!"_ He heard Ashe's annoyed groan deep in the recesses of his mind.

"…Let's just pretend that never happened." She commented with a shake of her head. "And returning to the subject at hand, don't you think we should get Koko-chan's opinion on this. You are planning on moving her out of her home after all."

Pouting at her dismissal to his rhymes, he placed his head softly onto his Usagi-chan's shoulders. _'I thought they were good.'_ And for some reason, he got the feeling some rapping swordsman would completely agree. "Ah…she'll agree." He whispered resolutely. He did not have any sort of hope in his tone whatsoever.

**"If you're feeling lonely kit, why don't you just move back in with the Namikaze's?"** He grunted in annoyance. He didn't receive a reply. Scowling, he was about to continue when he felt a glare burn into his skull. Turning, his scowl deepened when Ashe shook her head with a frown. After a couple moments, he backed off and grumbled before returning back to the recesses of his cage.

Eyes twitching in annoyance, he was about to doze off when he spotted a white blur slamming through the classroom door and into a pile of desks. Kushina Uzumaki coming through clapping her hands against each other in satisfaction. Turning around, it looked like she barely noticed the shocked look on everyone's faces 'side his and Natsumi's.

"Ah sorry about the interruption there," She laughed lightly. "I just had to drag a lazy Cyclops here, so it took a while of chasing and multiple threats of getting fixed and combustible books to drag him here." Seeing no one laughing, she simply stared silently at the newly graduated teens in annoyance. "Get your ass up Hatake before I decide to do the world a favor and burn those damnable books you call literature." She muttered under her breath.

A couple of scrambles later, a tall silver haired man with gravity defying hair stood next to her. A blue face mask covering most of his face along with his headband positioned to cover his left eye. His right eye giving them a bored half lidded gaze as it flickered warily towards the woman besides him. Also wearing a Jounin vest but with a dark blue shirt underneath. A red spiral noted on both shoulders as well a sporting matching pants and fingerless gloves with a metal plate over his knuckles and black shinobi sandals with bandages wrapped around his ankles.

Turning his gaze over to the students, his eye crinkled up into a weird eye smile. "My first impression of you all…you're dull." He said lazily…eyes widening slightly as he jerked his head to the left. A pencil shooting past him and piercing through the black board behind him like water. Seeing the gaping hole reach the other room, and the room after that judging by the other hole he mused that it was a really sharp pencil he just dodged. He felt really smart after figuring that out…not.

Turning his head around, his eyes locked on to a multi colored blond brat twirling a pencil…or multiple between his fingers. Naruto simply grinned innocently while sending several more of them right at him. Only for him to simply move to the side now the he's not really taken by surprise anymore. Only for his sole eye to twitch when they harmlessly clattered to the floor when hitting the board; yep, an irritating brat just likes his mother.

Ignoring the slight KI being sent his way by said woman-who he honestly wondered was psychic if she's able to notice when people's insulting her in their heads-he sighed. "As you probably already know from your homeroom sensei, I am Teams 7 Jounin sensei Hatake Kakashi."

"And I'm going to get going." Kushina chirped happily. Her eyes narrowing dangerously at the silver haired Jounin next to her when he thought the words 'bipolar' in his head, she restrained the urge to impale him with several sharp and pointy objects. Giving him a finale glare, she turned back to the rest of the gennin in the classroom as well as her son and his friend. Eyeing the brunette speculatively, she shook her head mentally before turning to Natsumi. "Natsu-chan, please try to get along with your team, and if you can, force your brother home for dinner." And before said bother had anything to say, she disappeared in a swirl of fragmented chains.

Blinking at the unique **Shunsin**, he turned to the red head with a look that said, 'You can just try girl, you can just try and fail in the most spectacular way.' The spark of challenge that flashed in her eyes proves that she accepted. Sparks colliding between their eyes, they heard a coughing sound and Naruto and Natsumi silenced the cause via killer pencils and dagger tipped chakra chains.

Blinking lazily, Kakashi stared blankly at the two projectiles on either side of his head, and back towards the one's that threw them. "Ok, now I really don't like you guys." He said blandly.

"And I don't like you." Naruto retorted glaring at him.

"And you're here for what reason?"

"I was kidnapped and Aka-chan is using Usagi-chan as insurance for me to stay. Now stuff it Inu-baka!" He snapped fingers twitching.

_"You…really don't like him, do you?"_ Ashe commented after a moment.

_'Give me a twenty meter radioactive spiked doggy bone and I'll show you just how I think of him.'_ Naruto replied blankly. Eye's drifting towards the orange book in his hands; he hummed in mild curiosity. _'Icha-Icha Paradise: Forbidden Temptations…for some reason I can't decide whether I want to read it or burn it in the realms of oblivion.'_ Shrugging after a moment, he pushed back his curiosity for another time. Retrieving the book can come later.

Eye crinkling into a smile, Kakashi nodded in mild amusement and giggled perversely inwardly. _'This reminds me of page three seventy-five when Natsuto and Koko was kidnapped by Narumi which led to hot passionate—'_Side-stepping, a chair slammed against the chalk board behind him. Blinking as it simply dropped to the ground, he turned and glared at the dejected Naruto who's had the eyes of everyone in the classroom.

Blinking, Naruto turned around to see if there was anyone behind him before turning back around with a look of confusion. "What, I didn't see anyone."

Sakura was about to say something, but a quick look into Naruto's cerulean eyes shut her up while Sasuke continued glaring at the boy. Natsumi just ignored the entire situation all together. Kakashi, he just decided to follow his sensei's daughter's example. "All right, now that we're all here, let's start with getting to know each other first." He said with an eye smile.

"Introduce ourselves, but we already know each other." Sakura frowned.

"Ma, ma; I'm just saying that you should tell us your likes, your dislikes, dreams, goals and etcetera." Kakashi said lazily.

"Sensei, why don't you introduce yourself first then?" Sakura asked. "You do look kind of suspicious."

"Oh…me?" he pointed to himself. "Well, my name is Hatake Kakashi…I have no desire to tell you my likes and dislikes…dreams for the future…hmm…and I have lots of hobbies…" Giving them an eye smile, he was about to finish when an irritating voice chimed in.

"His name is Hatake Kakashi also known as the copy-cat shinobi. His likes are his sensei and his Icha-Icha books that are simply porn in words and his dislikes are a certain youthful rival of his and anyone who harms his precious Icha-Icha. His dreams in the future involving himself being in the star role of an Icha-Icha movie and hobbies are pissing people off by coming three hours late and coming up with ridiculously sad lies as excuse while reading and reading his Icha-Icha books twenty-four hours a day seven days a week." Naruto finished in a monotonously mocking tone as he relished Hatake's glare at ruining the mysterious air around him in front of his team. "That about sums up your rather perverted life…doesn't it **Kashi-chan**?" He cackled gleefully as he bristled.

"How exactly do you know so much about him Baka-Naruto?" Sakura scowled.

"When I said that he adored his sensei, I figured that the class would have taught you that his sensei was the Yondaime Hokage Namikaze Minato, also known as Natsumi's father." Naruto scoffed. "As to why I know so much about him, it's because he often hangs around our house when we were younger if not to babysit us or to just plain irritate us for amusement."

Just as her scowl deepened, he couldn't help but grin at the fact that she might finally snap. Only to pout slightly as Hatake intervened. "Ma, ma; Now that my aura of mysteriousness has been destroyed by an annoying blond gaki, it's now your turn to introduce yourselves. Duck-butt being the first to go up…"

His seemingly permanent scowl deepening at his nickname, he glared at him. "My name is Uchiha Sasuke. There are lots of things I dislike and I don't really like anything…and I can't really call it a dream." His eyes darkened dangerously. "But I have an ambition. My ambition is the resurrection of my clan and…to kill a certain man."

Staring at the boy with narrowed eyes, he repressed a sigh. _'Like I thought…'_ Just as he was about to continue, a second voice interrupted him.

"Excuse me, but if you plan on resurrecting your clan…" Naruto started with a fake smile. "Doesn't that mean that you have to get laid first?" Ignoring the boy's scathing glare, he chuckled as Sakura was sent into dreamland. That didn't stop Natsumi from whacking him upside the head. Pity Kokoro wasn't up; would have been interesting to see her reaction.

Chuckling at the boy's use of words, Kakashi nodded. "Alright, you're up next bubblegum." He eye smiled as she scowled at her nickname.

"My name is Haruno Sakura. The thing I like is…" She blushed as she stared at a certain Uchiha. "…well the person I like is…"cue squealing. "…and uhm…my dream for the future…uhm…?" Squealing reaching a higher level as her words became incomprehensible. Sending the Uchiha a pitying glance, he shrugged as the boy simply glared at him.

Before he could call up Natsumi, a soft yawn cut him off and once again, all of their attention was drawn to the troublesome trio. Tetsumi Kokoro blinking tiredly, she looked around curiously rubbing her eyes to get the tears out. After her vision cleared up, she blinked once, twice, and thrice times when she noticed that she weren't in her room. Looking down, she also noted that she wasn't in her nighties.

Before she could even question what was going on, Naruto popped up right in front of her with a megawatt grin on his face. "Morning Usagi-chan," He greeted with a wave. "I'm sure you're wondering why you're not sleeping peacefully in your room, so here's the run down. I've decided to have some fun and kidnap you from your rather cute bedroom and snuggle and cuddle with you in the middle of your old classroom while claiming you as mine." He explained lying through his teeth with a straight face. "And I have to say, you have a rather adorable choice of panties in your drawer my dear Usagi-chan!"

Blinking in surprised, she missed the gaping expressions from the other residents in the room. When she finally processed his words after a couple moments, her face lit up in a fiery inferno as a perverted giggled reached her ears. "Eh…"

Clasping his hands over his Usagi-chan's, Naruto grinned wider. "Good, you agree," He chirped. "Now let's get started!"

Frozen stiff, her flush deepened and she was about to protest when a foot came from her right and slammed into Naruto's face kicking him away. Natsumi's face coming into view with a look mixed together from astonishment and feminine wrath. "Sorry about the buffoon, but the truth is that I brought you here to hopefully keep that," She said pointing at the cackling boy rolling around the ground. "In check while I figure out how to drag him home for dinner!" Before she could even blink, Natsumi was in the center of the classroom with her brother hanging suspended in the air by his feet with several layers of crimson Chakra Chains.

Cackling in his momentary fit of insanity, Naruto grinned dementedly at Natsumi. "Why Aka-chan, you really love tying me up!" He exclaimed happily. "If you wanted your way with me, you only need to ask. Maybe Usagi-chan can join in!?" Laughing insanely, Natsumi sighed in irritation before pulling at a sole chain. Naruto's chained form shifting for a moment before spinning around in the room at high speeds. His mad laughter echoing off the walls, Natsumi simply ignored the strange looks from the other people and flushed in humiliated anger. Tugging at the chain, the spinning slowly came to a stop. Naruto's head rolling around his shoulders dramatically as he weakly giggled in wooziness.

Giggling weakly, he blinked for a couple moments and looked around with a curious tit of his head. "What is the ride over?"

Staring, Sasuke turned to look towards Natsumi with a blank expression on his face. "And you're related to **that?**" He said jutting his fingers towards the gasping blonde.

"The Uchiha made a joke!" Naruto whispered breathlessly. "…THE CORRUPTION HAS FINALLY BEGUN!" He cackled manically.

Eye's twitching; he glared at Naruto with patented Uchiha glare number sixty-five, with additional glaring effect! "I repeat my previous question."

Placing his hand on the Uchiha's shoulders shocking him, Naruto nodded with utmost seriousness. "That's right, what he said!" He exclaimed glaring at Kakashi who was now hanged in the air. Blinking, they all looked at the befuddled Kakashi who was wondering what the hell just happened before turning to the serious looking Naruto. They turned back to Kakashi, then Naruto, then Kakashi, then Naruto.

Rubbing her eyes to check if she was seeing things, Sakura scowled in confusion. "How did you get down from there?" She asked.

Blinking, Naruto tilted his head to the side and scratched the back of his head with a look of genuine confusion in his eyes. "I was up there?" He asked innocently pointing at the suspended Jounin. "…When?"

Eye's twitching; she pinched the bridge of his nose with her free hand. _'Okay, four times. Four times he has somehow escaped the chains.'_ "Can someone let me down now?" Letting go of the chain, Kakashi dropped to the ground with a thump. "Ow, thank you, but ow." She ignored him.

Ear's twitching, she turned to hear the sound of giggling and snapped towards Kokoro who placed a hand over her lips to stop. She didn't even need to turn because Naruto had near instantaneously materialized right next to Koko-chan who eeped in surprise. "Are you done with your momentary fit of insanity?" She asked with a raised brow.

Replying with a grin, he shrugged.

**"You know…this reminds me of something."** Kurama pondered, his crimson eyes drifting slowly towards a hovering vixen.

Humming, she opened her eyes feeling someone's eyes on her and turned. Her form hovering upside down in mid-air, she simply stared curiously into the fox's eyes. "…What?" She said tilting her head to the side.

Staring back, he simply shook his head, laid back down, and grumbled about snow haired insanities.

Staring blankly at the teens in the classroom, Kakashi simply looked back to his book. "Now then, Mini-Kushina is up next." Shooting a quick glare to the spiky haired fishcake, he twitched when the boy was simply staring blankly off into space. The girl, Kokoro, was looking entirely nervous about being here no doubt. _'Wonder how someone shy like her met up with someone as insane as Naruto.'_

Sending her brother a worried look, she smiled. "My name is Namikaze Natsumi and I like my family, my brother, ramen, training, and learning new jutsu's. I dislike rapists, criminals, my family feeling sad, the three minute wait for the ramen to cook, myself in a way, and my goal would be to make my family happy and become the first female Hokage. My new dream being to show my brother that dreams can come true." She smiled brightly ignoring the scoff coming from said brother and looks of confusion from the others.

"Excuse me Natsumi-san?" Kokoro asked shyly.

"Yes?"

"…why…would you hate yourself?" she asked hesitantly.

Her eyes dimming for a brief moment, she closed her eyes and smiled. "Because there was something I could have prevented…but didn't." and with that she faced back forward with a slight frown. Her eye's closed causing herself to miss the emotion sparking in Naruto's eyes.

_'Okay…I've got an avenger, a semi-ramen crazed girl with a developing brother complex, and a fan-girl. What could be better?'_ he thought sarcastically. _'What did I do this time for you to punish me like this Minato-sensei?'_

Turning to face the last two brats in the class, he simply made eye contact with the fishcake, and said fishcake stare right back unblinkingly. After a couple minutes of staring, the others were starting to grow a bit uneasy seeing as none of them moved, nor blinked.

"I'm not a Gennin, and you're not my sensei, so don't even think you can get me to—"Feeling something being shoved into his hand, he looked down and stared at the beef ramen flavored pocky. Opening it, he grabbed a stick, and calmly bit off a piece. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto."

"I thought your family name was Namikaze." Sakura frowned bewildered. "Aren't you Natsumi-san's twin?" shivering at the frosty glare sent her way; she straightened her back in fright.

Staring at her for a couple moments, he hummed softly to himself before turning to Natsumi. "You want me to say anything else, you give me back my fruit flavored pocky." Getting a raised brow in response, he smiled as a box of sour apple entered his hand. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto and I like Cecilia-chan, reading, sleeping…" Stopping for a moment there, he scratched the back of his head in thought. _'Who's Cecilia?'_ was the question on everyone's minds though. After a couple seconds, he turned to face Sasuke with a blank look on his face. "…what else do I like exactly?" which simply caused everyone to face fault…or slam their heads on their desks.

"How would I know dope?" he brooded eye twitching.

"…ah…your right!" he muttered to himself with earned him a couple looks. Hearing a small giggle, he turned to see Kokoro smiling lightly on for her to blush when she saw everyone's attention on her. Smiling softly he continued. "I like it when I feel warmth…I dislike being alone, I dislike being stared at with cold eyes, I dislike people rules solely by their emotions, rapists, idiots who let their fear consume them, lies, abandonment, forced human experimentation, when people I care about are sad, being weak, being protected, as well not knowing what I should do with myself in the future. My goal in life is to prevent myself from being alone anymore and I don't have a dream." He said flatly. "Dreams are simply that. Dreams that could never be realizes in the real world. Only being seen and touched when you go to sleep. That is a dream and that is why I don't want one."

_'So this is what she meant about dreams.'_ Kakashi thought with a frown…not that they could tell with the face mask.

_"You sure it was okay to give soon to be killers information on yourself?"_ Ashe asked blandly. _"That's…not really a good idea unless you're applying for health insurance if I say so myself my little fishcake."_

**"Not really,"** Kurama grunted. **"So far the kit has only told them about people he dislike, and the things he dislikes usually end up as a bloody puddle on the road."**

_'Exactly, and they already took away the first person that actually showed they cared from me.'_ Naruto said simply. _'So they try anything else and the disappearances will evolve into full on genocide.'_ Though if that does happen, he'll have to run from the village. Maybe he should come up with some contingency plans just in case.

_ "Point, a bloody one,"_ She admitted. _"But it's a point none the less."_

Nodding, he was about to say something else when, "Alright bunny girl, you're up next." Kakashi piped up, tilting his head to the side to dodge the barrage of pencils piercing through the Academy walls. "And for now, I'll ignore the trigger-happy fishcake."

Naruto only replied by glaring heatedly at him while bringing Kokoro into a one armed hug. "She's my Usagi-chan you horny mutts." He growled over-protectively. Three seconds later he was snapping at them from the ceiling with his entire body bound back first by crimson chains. And by entire body, that meant his legs, arms, fingers, waist, torso, toes, and neck. "By the time I get out of these confines, you shall all rue the day where you have crossed the great Naruto-sama for it shall be I who shall send you all into the recesses of—"Stopping his little tirade, he growled when Natsumi somehow shoved several dozen sticks of pocky into his mouth from the ground several meters below him. Chewing angrily, his eyes brightened as the sour apple melted along his tongue. Chewing slowly to savor the flavor, he glared at each and every one of them…except for his beloved Usagi-chan of course!

Staring up at the ceiling, Sakura turned to her teammate. "Natsumi-san, no offence, but your brother's insane." She deadpanned. Sasuke grunted in agreement much to everyone's surprise, though that miracle only lasted for a moment.

"Now that the crazed fishcake is out of the way—"Jerking his head to the side once again, several pencils stabbed right into the desk behind him. "Alright, how did you do that while being chained up gaki?" He asked irritably looking up to the innocently chewing boy chained to the ceiling. A boy who tilted his head to the side as best as he could while giving him a look that plainly said, 'Who, me? Man, you must be whack yo!' He probably imagined that last bit though, but for some reason he could see the boy saying that.

Staring shyly at those around her, she was about to pull back into herself when she noticed Naruto smiling at her. Why would he be smiling at her? Confused, she began to take in a couple deep breaths to calm herself. "My name is…Tetsumi Kokoro. I like sweet…inventing new things…quiet, reading, and being by myself. I dislike noise…my weak constitution, my inventions…going out of control…rapists, criminals, and people…saying that I'm too weak…to live the way…I want. My goal…" Looking around, she mumbled that last part in inaudible whispers. Ears twitching, Naruto stopped chewing for a moment and stared silently at Kokoro with an unreadable expression.

_'…Ah…an interesting goal she has.'_ He commented idly.

_'…wow, seems like the social recluse is the most stable.'_ Kakashi chuckled behind his mask. "Alright, tomorrow, my team and I will our duties as shinobi?"

"What kind?" Sakura asked curiously.

"Ano…is this something Naruto…and I should hear?" Kokoro asked quietly.

Swallowing the last of his pocky, Naruto hummed his agreement. "That's right, now that that's done; we have no reason to stay here, right?"

"Hn," Sasuke grunted. "I highly doubt you're going anywhere dope."

"Ah…and the duck speaks." Naruto drawled semi-dramatically making Sasuke glare at him. "Yep, ignoring the water fowl, I really have to ask." Sitting down calmly right next to Kokoro, he clapped his hands in mild amusement gathering their attention. "How long do you plan on keeping him up there?" He asked pointing at the chained Uchiha, a tomato planted firmly in his mouth to keep him from shouting any and all sorts of profanities at him.

"SASUKE-KUN," Sakura shouted in panic. Staring at her true-love chained up in the ceiling, she reeled on the cause and stalked right up to it. Grabbing him by the collar, Naruto hummed in amusement as she glared at him with the fiery rage of the sun…or something she thought was that strong. "NARUTO-BAKA, YOU BETTER GET SASUKE-KUN DOWN FROM THERE RIGHT NOW!" She shouted jerking him up in the air angrily. **'CHAAA,"** Inner Sakura exclaimed in agreement.

Eye's twinkling in amusement, he was about to say reply with something annoying when Kokoro placed a placating hand on Sakura's arms. "Sakura-san…I'm not sure…how Naruto got free…and placed Uchiha-san…in his place, but…Natsumi-san can simply…dispel the chains." Nearly flinching when Sakura turned her glare towards her, she simply put on the calmest smile she to them both, but not to Hatake, Naruto's eyes frosted over the moment she turned her glare to Kokoro. "You know…now that Naruto…isn't all there."

"That is oh so true!" He chirped happily, but soon zipped his lips when Kokoro turned towards him with a frown.

"So just let him go…and take deep breaths…and exhale before calming…down." She advised with a small smile.

Glare weakening for a bit, Sakura looked at her speculatively for a moment before turning to her target of painfully violent aggression and twitched in annoyance. The idiot wasn't even looking at her…or anything for that matter. After a couple moments, she huffed angrily before roughly dropping him back into the chair. Turning to Natsumi expectantly, she could only raise her brow in confusion when she simply pointed up. Following her gaze, she found the chains limp and completely free of any prisoners, and more importantly her Sasuke-kun.

Head snapping angrily towards Naruto, she was about to splatter him into the ground when he simply pointed ahead. Grounding her teeth, she looked over her shoulders and found her Sasuke-kun sitting in brooding confusion as he ate from a basket of ripe tomatoes that mysteriously appeared out of nowhere. He can still remember the cackling laughter of insanity of bloodcurdling screams the pierced the sky whenever Kushina arrived on the battlefield.

Staring blankly for a couple moments, she sighed before walking right back to her seat next to the brooding avenger. Happy to at least know that he liked tomatoes, she turned around and gave Naruto the stink eye before returning to her Uchiha watching.

Silently thinking about the scene he just witnessed, Kakashi sighed inwardly in exasperation. _'Having Naruto here is getting in the way of my Icha-Icha time.'_ "Alright, are there any questions before I go on?"

"I got one, like why haven't you answered Koko-chan's question Ero-Inu!?" And the questioner was the multi-haired menace.

"Tetsumi-san, please control your pet." Kakashi stated no longer acknowledging Naruto as a semi-intelligent being…or sane, but considering his parents; that should be obvious.

Blinking, Naruto was about to protest with drama when soft fingers softly ran through his multi-colored locks. Blinking once again, he turned to see that it was his Usagi-chan petting him. Grumbling, he sat back down and placed his head on her shoulders much to her embarrassments and the other's astonishment. After all, in their already forming opinions, Naruto was a crazed maelstrom of insanity and chaos, and they only knew him for a couple minutes. But here was the dead-last failure quieting down said chaos with but a touch. It was a real blow to their self-esteem, even more so to the Sasuke considering that he didn't know how the blond haired dope escaped the chains while switching him in the dopes place without him noticing. And he was the one chained, and where did he get the tomato?

"M'kay, now that that rabid animal is under control." He drawled. "Tomorrow, you three will be arriving at the designated area on this paper with the time of our assignment. We will be conducting survival exercises?"

"But sensei, we already did survival exercises in the Academy." Sakura replied in a matter in fact tone.

"This isn't your normal training…" he chuckled. "This time the respective teams will be having their Jounin sensei's as their opponents." And with that he continued to laugh in obvious amusement.

"What so funny Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura scowled.

"Well it's just that…when I tell you this you guys are totally going to freak out." Kakashi said lazily. "Because of the thirty graduates, only nine will actually be chosen to become a gennin. The rest will be sent back to the academy. This training is a very difficult exercise exam with a percentage rate of failure going higher than sixty-six percent."

"But then what would be the point of them graduating then?" Naruto asked blandly shifting his head further into Kokoro's shoulders much too said girl's awkwardness.

"Oh that! That was just to separate the weeds from those who would actually have a chance to live as a shinobi." Kakashi eye smiled. "We can't be sending gennin who has no chances out in the real world to die, so this was the best option." _'Personally though, the academies standards have fallen to low.'_

_'Am I the only one thinking about the fact that there are eight clan heirs with actual shinobi training with one civilian add-on?'_ Naruto asked himself. _'And there are only nine spots to.'_

"Don't forget to get along now. Oh…and skip breakfast. You might throw up in the middle of it all." He chuckled. "The details are on these papers, so don't be late tomorrow." And with that Kakashi handed Sasuke, Natsumi, and Sakura theirs and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Reluctantly picking his shoulders off of his bunnies shoulders, he was about to vanish into the night like a mysterious phantom when he remembered that it was still morning. Turning to the others, he caught the Uchiha's eye and they both glared at each other for a couple seconds before Sasuke 'Hn'd' and left followed by his ever loyal bubblegum haired puppy.

He was about to follow, but stopped when a hand slammed down on his shoulders. "You don't like Shinobi's because they lie."

Freezing, he blinked and turned around to face Natsumi. "Excuse me?"

Smiling deviously, she nodded. "The bet," She said reminding him. "You never called the bet to an end, so it was still on. And Koko-chan's and my answer is that you don't like being a Shinobi because they lie. Whether it needs be, Shinobi will do what order which is lie, kill, steal, and destroy. All on a single order…and you don't like that part what-so-ever." Smile dimming a bit at the harsh truth, she nodded. "That is why you didn't become one!"

Brow's rising curiously, Naruto stared for a moment before turning to Kokoro. "Is that what you think as well?" He asked her.

Nodding, she smiled at him. "Is it…right?"

Thinking on their answers for a moment, he vanished right in front of their eyes making them blink. Hearing a soft knock, they turned to see him waving them over at the door. "Well, it was a mishap on my part to let the bet go on as far as I did." He admitted.

Blinking, the two turned to face each other and then back to Naruto. "Does that mean we're right?" Natsumi asked.

"No," Naruto replied bluntly. "You only got part of the answer, but I never said you had to give me an exact one. So you won the bet, if only by a loophole." Smiling softly, he chuckled. "But then again, Shinobi are good at finding loopholes to exploit in a contract." Grin turning mischievous, he saluted them. "And on that matter, you two now have one request you can make of me each. You can build up more requests by unknowingly completing mystery quests in which you have no knowledge on whether you even know you're competing in or when. And with that, I bid you, adieu!" Grin widening, he vanished in a swirl of wind.

Staring blankly at her brother's recently vacated spot, she twitched in annoyance. "Did he just run away?"

"…Yes." Kokoro replied with a giggle.

"…Just checking." She groaned.

* * *

_**(Several Hours Later)**_

* * *

**"You sure this is a good idea kit?"** Kurama asked. **"While I'm up for the chaos that is just about to unfold, I'd rather do without the drama that comes with it."**

_'It's not like I'm staying Kurama.'_ Naruto sighed. _'It's just for a nightly visit. Besides, at best I could just leave if things get too much.'_

_"Yep, and if you leave, I highly doubt you'd ever turn back."_ Ashe said putting in her two cents.

Humming in agreement, he looked ahead with a frown and mentally checked his to-do list. Let's see, he made sure Kokoro arrived home safely. He gave Tora some fish in exchange for her and the others to guard her house from any unwelcome intruders. He gave her permission for snacking on said intruders. He locked his apartment while activating the deadly traps hidden away for soon to be blood stains with an attitude. He made sure to pay a visit to Cecilia-nee's grave. He snatched that book Kakashi was reading in the morning and replaced it with Yaoi. Got some spending money from the local thugs who tried to mug him; paid a visit to his pets…and he created some schematics for some contingency plans later in his life.

_'Okay, the book will have to come later. And maybe I could convince Tora to terrorize the local Gennin some more for my amusement in case I'm bored. She doesn't like the fact that she has to play along and get caught, then brought back to the Daimyo's wife for appearance's sake, so it might be a bit hard. That bloodthirsty woman is coming to close to finding my pets, so I'll have to relocate them to another location.'_ He mumbled inwardly. _'The schematics will need implementing, but I still don't have a suitable location to start with. And somehow, someway, I'm going to need to convince my Usagi-chan to move out of the apartment of her's. That can probably wait until I'm done with some of my plans, so I'll have Tora guard her for me in the meantime.'_ Thinking on what he still has left to do, he hummed in annoyance.

Taking a look at some of his plans, Ashe whistled. _"You really are an obsessive fishcake, aren't you? Ever heard of overboard?"_

_**"There's no such thing as overboard when your enemy just won't stay dead."**_ Naruto and Kurama said in union.

Staring at their jointed answer, she shrugged. _"That's a good policy to live by as long…as you don't kill yourself in the process that is. That'd be pathetic."_

Humming in agreement, he sighed reluctantly pushing his plans away for later. Well, it's now or never. So with great reluctance, he knocked on the door to the Namikaze's house and mentally braced for the chaos that was to arise this night.

* * *

_**(The Hokage Monument)**_

* * *

Royal blue eyes staring softly at the moon above, he couldn't help but grin in nostalgia. In this world, the full moon was once again alone. The brightest and sole light that illuminated the sky, yet at the same time, it is the loneliest. With a light so bright, it is only natural that those that surround it would surely be jealous of its radiance. And because of this, they slowly drift away.

"To be at the top, is said to be the goal of all fighters." The boy is a fighter…there is no doubt about that. He is at the very bottom of the ladder with his light being as dim as a firefly's. He will steadily get stronger, but there will be plenty near the top who would love to see him die out. For sometimes, it is those with the dimmest of glows, which can shine the brightest.

"In this world filled with Shinobi, he is the catalyst." He whispered. "Will he bring the revival of a time long since passed, or will he be the one to extinguish its chances of seeing the light again." Waving his hand in front of him, a small vortex of darkness spiraled into existence. The shapes shifting for but a moments time before a crystalline mirror materializes within its depths.

Gently pulling it out, he stared silently into his reflection before shattering it. The fragments slowly hovering in the air, they twisted and turned before dissolving into glittery dust. "Ashe, your appearance here has cause unknown reactions within the timeline." Gaze lingering on the dust that slowly began to spiral around him, he trailed his fingers along the thin veil of sand. Swiping at it, the dust dispersed wildly in the air before a vacuum of air drew it in. Its form taking the shape of a hazy circle, a ghost of a smile graced his lips as it began to quickly change.

After a moments silence, it took the shape of a tree similar to those found all around this very village. Small shifting leaves blowing gently in the wind, he stabbed his finger right at its center. "That, which was supposed to have happened, hadn't." Swiping his finger out of the tree, the trunk split in two separate branches. The first going on undisturbed, while the latter held untold changes within the paradox.

Nodding, he waved his hand over the first. The crystalline dust forming images of a familiar blonde haired Jinchuriki, he frowned before turning to the second. They both split into various other smaller branches, but the main body simply grew and grew. Eye's drifting towards the dead leaves; his eye's dimmed slightly in sadness. "Each leaf represents the state of the world, and the birth of one, will be the birth of a world that drifted from the timeline, just as the death of a leaf…" Trailing off, he sighed in mild irritation.

"In each world, there is a single Core," he started slowly. "And that Core…is the original path of the world while the branches are its alternates of what could have been." Because of Ashe's appearance, the core has been split in two. The original going unperturbed, while the new, goes on a path unknown to the Fates.

"…And the changes all start at the moment of the prophesy child's birth." He whispered staring at the split between Cores. Gaze lingering, he swiped his hand through the tree dissolving it into the darkness. _'The gods are watching Ashe.'_ He thought grimly. _'Whether or not you meant to, you've done something irreparable, and they don't like it. So be prepared, get allies, and most importantly,'_ Eye's flashing a deep amethyst, he vanished in a corridor of darkness. _'Don't let anything get in the way of what you want. Show the world your __**greed.**__'_

* * *

**_Ah...I hope the characters were...well...in character. I hope you like the chapter, and review you're opinions._**


	15. Chapter 14

**_Ah...I do not own Naruto but I do own all original characters and idea's._**

_**Chapter 14**_

* * *

_**Ah...I apologize if this update...came a bit late, but I had other matters..that I needed to attend to. It's a..bit short, so sorry about that..as well.**_

_**thor94: As for what I have...planned for Naruto...his journey would lead him...to a couple missions outside the...village, but for the...majority...he will be inside going...on his own...adventure hidden within...the Elemental Nations...Dreams...and for your other question...I think I forgot to mention something...but Ashe nor Royal...are deities. They are strong...but they are not Kami's. As for Naruto...becoming a deity...no...he will not be a deity...as his relation with what already is...is still considered secret. But I'll give out a hint...he has a connection...with the Biju...in a way...but he doesn't as well...**_

* * *

With a snap, he began chewing another stick of ramen flavored pocky as he eyed the scene from above. Right now, Natsumi and her teammates were in the middle of their Survival Exercise. Apparently Kakashi gave them a test stating that they should steal a bell from him unless they want to be sent back to the Academy. To make matters worse, there are three Gennin, and only two bells.

As expected, Hatake arrived three hour's late. He explained the rules. And they all separated into the woods. Gaze lingering on the area, he swallowed. _'Wonder if Natsumi will understand the hints to today's test yesterday.'_ Humming in thought, he turned away to stare at the Namikaze estate.

Last night was a rather hectic event. His arrival was a surprise to the entire family, even Kushina herself who expected him to not accept. It was to be expected after all, he just wasn't sure exactly why he had come to begin with. During the entire dinner, he wanted nothing but to be away from the Namikaze's, yet he stayed. He'd thought Genjutsu, but then he recalled that Kurama would have said something. Despise it to weak a word for his contempt of the illusionary art. Despite being modeled after a Kitsune, he prefers using power over mind.

…Not that he wouldn't understand though, he'd hate being a puppet under someone else's control as well. So for mind calming effects, he will completely destroy any Yamanaka's he'd meet in a fight. He would count Uchiha, but currently there are only two known ones in existence.

**"I still say that you should get rid of the Uchiha-gaki."** Kurama growled. **"It would save you a lot of fucking trouble in the future."**

_'Yeah…'_ He drawled eliciting a feral smirk from Kurama. _'No.'_ And the smirk fell. _'For some reason, Natsumi has an unnatural fascination for the brat. And while annoying, I can't use the excuse of fangirlism due to the fact that she looks like she's thoughts away from pounding the boy. Sasuke…I don't know him, so I won't be able to make an accurate Bio of his psych. But from what I've seen today, he seems to be trying to outdo Natsumi so it's possible it's a budding rivalry between the two.'_

_"Or it could possibly be something more."_ Ashe commented airily.

_'…Kurama, let's ice the duck.'_ Hearing an overjoyed cackled, he was about to form a spear of wind when an image flashed in the forefront of his mind. Dispersing the wind much to Kurama's displeasure, he hummed in annoyance. _'You do know I was only kidding, right?'_

Raising a single brow in mild incredulity, Naruto chuckled nervously when her stare didn't falter. _'Fine, I'll hold of icing the duck for later.'_ He mumbled to her satisfaction. _'I'll leave that to Aka-chan.'_ Speaking of Aka-chan…maybe he shouldn't have come to dinner last night? It was awkward if anything else. With Minato trying but failing to say anything and Kushina attempting to start some conversations…yeah, maybe he should stay away after all.

_"Naruto, you're giving up way to easily."_ Ashe barked. _"Just because you're in unfamiliar territory does not give you the right to back down! If they have no idea how to start, then you should show them up and start the conversation yourself!'_ Nodding with a huff, she grinned. _'After all, ignore all the drama; and you could have just amused me while trying to make them splutter in embarrassment! Oh the secrets, don't forget the delectably ravenous secrets!'_ She cackled insanely.

Snorting inwardly, he hummed in silence. _'Sorry, but I think you're suffering from insanity.'_

_"Suffering, why would I be suffering? I'm enjoying every minute of it!"_

_'My point exactly,'_ He chuckled lightly. Playing with one of his spikes, his eyes drifted down to the tree's below. _'I've got to say Ashe; I understand why you love to hover around the place now.'_ Nodding, he uncrossed his legs and turned around facing the ground belly first. His body hovering freely several yards in the air, he blinked wearily and yawned. _'Makes me feel as if I want to take a nap,'_

_"I know."_ She replied softly.

Humming softly, he looked around the village with an inquisitive gaze. Eye's lingering on a familiar area, his lips twitched to a frown. "Hey Ashe, do you know what happened after my loss to the tiger?"

Ear's perking up, she thought about it for a moment. _"I'm not too sure about that myself actually."_ She admitted with a shrug. _"We see only what you see, and the last thing you saw was you're mother's face. Other than that, I was only able to sense what was happening outside with vague details at best."_ Grin widening sadistically, she laughed. _"But from what I did sense was that Kushina was giving the beat down to the mutated kitten with a smile on her face. She truly is a whirlpool of untold destruction when angered, but the last detail I was able to gather was that Mizuki's body simply broke down soon after."_ It was too weak after all.

Nodding absently, his mind wandered towards the event two days after. "I'm not sure why that man didn't kill me when he had the chance…but," Raising his hand in front of his eyes, he hummed in a subdued tone. "…he was playing with me…wasn't he?" No…playing would be too strong a word.

**"That man didn't even see you an anything better than the dirt beneath his feet."** The fox grunted out bluntly while casually ignoring the vixens glare. **"To him, you were nothing but a dead bug waiting to rot away. The moment he got serious, you're entire existence, soul and all, would have been nothing but ash vanishing with the depths of oblivion before you even knew what fucking happened."**

Glaring daggers at her pet, she winced uncomfortably as several metaphorical arrows pierced though her fishcake's heart. _"Ah…what Kurama meant to say, is that he was on another level all together. Right now, you really wouldn't stand a hair's breathe of a chance against the guy."_ She laughed unknowingly twisting the arrows.

Eye's twitching, he pouted. _'Ashe…when do you think I'll be ready for the next step?'_ Naruto asked running his fingers through his hair impatiently. _'It's been a while since I completed the third step in training and…and…'_ Thoughts going back to his fight with Torazuki, his eyes hardened. _'…I don't want to be that weak again. I don't want to have to rely on others help only so they could get hurt in the end.' _"I want to be stronger!" He declared with determination in his eyes.

Gazing into the darkness of his mindscape, Ashe simply stared at the small flicker of red that followed through with that declaration. But even though her smile was soft and warm, her eyes were void of emotion. _'I'm going to have to beat that mind-set out of him.'_ Looking towards the fox, she stared at the seal at the center of its cage for a couple moments. _'While his intent is pure, the road to hell is always paved with good intentions.'_

Humming softly in thought, she shrugged her shoulders. _"Naruto, do you remember what the first two steps were?"_ She asked.

_'Ah…the first step was Actualization and Dematerialization, right?'_ He recalled, confused at the sudden question.

Nodding, Ashe smiled as she pushed her thin wired glasses up her nose. Where she got them from Kurama didn't know, so he simply feigned boredom while paying attention. While's he's already heard the steps the first time, the explanations were another story as he was asleep during their practices.

_"Yep,"_ she chirped. _"Actualize and Dematerialize are the basic steps for the use of Mana. The energy that's currently flowing through your own veins instead of Chakra due to that singing fiasco of yours a while back."_ She reminded him with a clipped tone. _Mana is completely different from Chakra as it needs an Activation Key to actually work! Can you tell me what that is my bumbling apprentice!?"_ She leered giddily, a sadistic gleam brightening in her eyes just daring him to get it wrong.

Shivering, Naruto could only chuckle in unease. _'That would be…Emotion…?'_

Pouting, Ashe sighed in disappointment while snapping her fingers. The assortments of rubber ducky's, rabbits, banana's, and various other adorable objects vanished. Whats she was going to use them for, Kurama didn't want to know, nor find out. _"That's right! Unlike Chakra where you need to meditate to just find and activate it, then cultivate it throughout a Shinobi's rather dreadful life,"_ She drawled wearily, before perking up. _"Mana relies on the power of your emotions whereas Chakra relies on concentration and control primarily."_ Raising her palm face up towards the ceiling, a small shift formed around the air above her hand and a small sparkle of white began to form. Nodding, it grew to the size of a basketball along with its spherically smooth shape. _"But that does not really make it any easier, just more dangerous. In a way, you can compare it to Kurama's Chakra, right?" _She asked turning to the fox.

Eye's shifting lazily towards the vixen, Kurama only grunted in mild agreement. **"My Chakra would only be similar in that point of view, but right now, it's in the red-headed chibi-devil. Unlike yours who rely on the power of someone's emotion, the brat would be able to draw more and more of my Chakra as her hatred for something or someone grows. It feeds of anger, rage, and murderous intent, so in all purposes, it is much more dangerous less she ever become consumed by its volatile power."** Slitted eyes hardening, Naruto could only frown as he received the unanswered response.

Staring at her pet for a moment, she simply shrugged. _"Exactly as fuzz but says. But Mana doesn't really focus on one emotion in general, just whatever you're feeling at the time. So the effects could be rather different if you're not careful."_ She warned lazily. Dispersing the ball of light above her palm, her smile widened. _"What was the purpose of the first step fishcake?"_

Thinking about of it for a moment, he nodded in understanding. _'Ah…I forgot!'_

Expression blanking, Ashe simply hummed in understanding. _'Yeah, let's increase his sets by a couple dozen.'_ She forgot that his memory wasn't all that reliable. _"The purpose of the Step was for you to actually bring out your Mana and use it. It's like how Shinobi draw their Chakra to use their control exercises and what not. But for you, the step was meant to help you control your emotions."_ She started. _"Mana requires emotion to work, so the first part was for you to be able to draw it out with what you're feeling. The stronger you felt, the more power you draw. After you got that done, the next part of step one was Dematerialization. Are you following along?"_ Feeling him nod, she smiled. _"Step one's focus was primarily meant for you to connect you're emotions with your Mana reservoir and disconnect. When you learned how to bring out your Mana with your emotions, the second part was meant for you to suddenly disconnect the bridge between you're emotions and Mana."_

_ 'Ah…that sounded a lot easier than it actually was.'_ He mumbled irritably.

_"Yep,"_ Ashe chirped in short laughter. _"Suddenly cutting off the strong emotions you were feeling is not easy. It's like telling someone completely furious to calm down. Should you expect them to just do it the next second? No, you shouldn't."_ She hummed silently to herself. _"That was the next part of step one, to diminish the buildup of emotion you had in an instant to disconnect the bridge you created to your Mana reservoir. You're bridge was made to disconnect because if it was always on, then any sudden bursts of emotion could draw out you're Mana and destroy your surroundings."_

Nodding, he blinked in mild understanding before her final words caught up with him. _'Wait…what do you mean __**my**__ bridge?'_

Looking up, she blinked in response. _"Ah…I knew I forgot something!"_ She muttered. _"You see Fishcake; most people with the ability to use Mana don't have circulatory systems like the Shinobi do with their Chakra. Most if not all people these days have those whether they're civilians or Shinobi, more so for those born from Shinobi Parents."_ Ignoring Naruto's grumbling at that, she thought about how to explain it. _"I myself use Mana, and not Chakra, and fuzzy here is basically a Chakra Manifestation given form. Since Kurama's Chakra was sealed inside Natsumi,"_ She said waving off the fox's threatening growl at the fact. _"The seal that was made to keep him here was basically made to siphon off his power and direct it into your own reserves."_

Head jerking up at that, he shook. _"Wait…SO YOU'RE SAYING I'VE BEEN STEALING KURAMA'S POWER!"_ He shouted mentally in shock.

Wincing at the scream, she rubbed her ears and gave a sympathetic look to her pet as he growled. **"JUST SHUT UP AND LISTEN YOU BRAT!"** The fox replied with a roar forcing Naruto to keep his mouth shut.

_"Thank you Kurama,"_ She muttered sarcastically. _"Thank you oh so much for busting my other eardrum! I can practically __**hear **__the music!"_ Eye's twitching at the fox's smug smirk; she clicked her tongue in annoyance. _And Fishcake, no shouting! And no, you're not stealing any of the fox's power because it's all sealed inside of Natsumi. The Namikaze was in a rush during the sealing because there was a giant rampaging fox currently showing the village his benevolence by showering them with death and destruction!"_

**"I try…well, not really."**

Letting the comment pass…for now, Ashe huffed. _"He couldn't really change the seal because of the lack of time, and without any source of power for the seal to take, its function basically changed to that of analyzing any nearby power source and taking that instead."_ She replied with a dismissive wave.

_'…but doesn't that mean…'_ Naruto swallowed thickly as a look of horror flashed in his eyes.

_"That you've been taking my power, yep, that's exactly it!"_ She chirped before frowning. _"And don't even start with that self-blaming crap of yours!"_ She snapped making him flinch. _"Unlike fuzzy here at the moment, I can regain more Mana lost faster than the seal can take. So…yeah, it's like it's not taking anything from me at all!"_ Inspecting her fingernails, she gave them a shit-eating grin. _"I'm awesome like that after all! Oh, and Naruto…"_

_ '…Yes…?'_ He replied dejectedly. Taking power from his Sensei was not a good thing for him, especially after all's she's done for him to. _"Keep feeling sorry and I'll give you something to feel sorry about!"_ She threatened with a sadistic grin.

Humming in thought after a couple moments, he nodded even though Ashe could still feel the regret from his mindscape. Clicking her tongue in mild irritation, she shook her head. _"Anyway…back to the subject at hand."_ She started. _"Since you were born with an already forming Chakra Circulatory System due to fuzz but being sealed inside Kushina at the time, with me being sealed in you, you're system started changing and accepting Mana instead of Chakra due to my presence inside the seal. But the changes were slow and almost unnoticeable really. By the time you were old enough to attend the Shinobi Academy, you would be unable to call on your Chakra because your body would no longer be making any at the time."_

Nodding in understanding, he frowned. _'But…isn't Chakra what keeps people alive these days?'_

Snorting in response, Ashe shook her head in dark amusement. _"Oi, you people had digged your own graves long ago with that stunt!"_ That Hagoromo was certainly a fool to spread Chakra to the opulence, or Ninshu in his words. She's supports and trusts Humanity's potential to use it for great things…but the fact remains that she doesn't trust Humanity in general. A fact that she had to wake up to a long time ago…she just wished that it didn't take the world almost ending to finally know that. _"Chakra in general is just Physical Energy, Ki, and Spiritual Energy, Rei, mixed together. Of course exhausting all of your Chakra will kill a person! Ki is basically what keeps the Human body alive and moving while Rei is basically the energy that helps them think, plan, and improvise on the fucking spot! You exhaust your Ki; you end up sleepier and more sluggish than a sloth. You exhaust you Rei; good luck sleeping in a fucking coma till it comes back. Exhaust them both together…goodbye life and hello hell!"_ She exclaimed irritably.

Chuckling nervously at her ranting, he sighed in relief when she seemingly regained her composure. _"Anyway, you were supposed to be able to gain the ability to use Mana when you were twelve, but due to your song a couple years back, I had to force the issue through myself less you killed yourself. Due to that, the first step was made for the individual, and by that I mean you, to link your emotions to your Mana and cut it off on an instant."_ Twirling her fingers around a bang of snow white hair, she huffed. _"While you lost your Tenketsu, your Chakra System remained. That System now acted like a bridge to bring out your Mana. Longer story shorter, imagine a normal System without Tenketsu, and replace the Chakra part with Mana. The Mana is linked to your emotions, and Chakra is drawn to when you call on it. That is what the First Step was made for. If you didn't, then you would be continuously calling on Mana thus emptying your reservoir and putting in an eternal coma." _She said ending her explanation.

_'…That was a long…and confusing explanation…'_ Naruto decided in bemusement.

_"Yep, and thankfully step two is much simpler."_ Ashe sighed in relief. _"Step two was basically about control. Even though you learned how to connect and disconnect the link, this one is based on how you control your Mana through your emotions instead of letting it go on a rampage. If you were angry for the slightest reason, your Mana would have reacted without you wishing it to. This step was made for battle situations as one would obviously get frustrated or something in a fight. A clear example being that fight with Mizuki you had."_

_'How so…?'_

**"You wanted to tear the insect in half!"** Kurama grunted with a sadistic sneer. **"You wanted to grind his bones into dust! To slowly rip off his limbs and stab all of them right back into the stumps, twisting it as you peeled of his skin inch by inch! You hated him! You despised him! Wanted him to suffer! Wanted him to scream as you continued to disembowel him with a pleasant smile visible on your lips,"** Sighing in proud satisfaction at the gore and chaos that had been flooding the kit's thoughts at the time, he cackled in mild disappointment. **"It truly was a pity that you had an audience. It would have been a glorious occasion!"**

Blinking, Naruto couldn't help but chuckle as the fox dozed off into blood drenched dreams. Ashe simply shook her head in expected exasperation. _"That would an example of what you would have done had you not completed the Second Step. That step was made primarily for you to keep control of your emotions during battle and not let them affect you're Mana. If they had…well…the entire forest might have needed a renovation before the fight even began."_ Ashe commented with a wave of her hand._ "And that also shows that you've also finished the third step as well."_

_'…I repeat my previous question.'_ was the Fishcakes snarky reply.

Eye's twitching, the red-eyed woman simply continued. _"Actualization and Dematerialization, Control, and the Third Step, would be Body Processing."_ Understanding the look of confusion that spread across her Fishcake's expression, she hummed in thought. _"In a way, it's basically how you adjust to using Mana in an actual battle. The first step involved calling it and cutting off the flow. The second step involved controlling your emotions to not affect your Mana. The third step involved actually using it in battle for a set period of time. Do you recall your fight with the Namikaze? About how you passed out in the end…?"_ Her reply being irritated grumblings, she giggled. _"The reason why you passed out was because you're body was not used to the prolonged period of using Mana. The sudden shifting of energy throughout you System and the sudden materialization of your Elemental Affinity,"_ Grin widening, she nodded. _"All that put a strain on your body because your body wasn't used to the amount of Mana being used and the prolonged time it was used for. An example of it would be that a Shinobi ate who knows how many Chakra Pills, thus filling their Chakra Systems with more Chakra than it could handle, and possibly kill, or end the Shinobi's career."_

Shuddering at the thoughts of him imploding inside out, he hummed uncomfortably. _"Not a nice picture is it!"_ His Sensei laughed. _"That last fight showed how you adapted to the sudden shifts of energy. Instead of wasting and pulling out to much Mana damaging your body in the process, you put in just enough for your body to handle and continued to fight. That showed that you finished the Third Step."_

Humming in agreement, Naruto's lips twitched in anticipation. _'But what about the fourth step…?'_

Thinking on that for a moment, Ashe frowned. _"The Fourth Step would take a bit to prepare, but I guess that I could give you a head start on what it's about…"_

"And that would be…"

_"For you to think about until the time comes,"_ Ashe chirped teasingly much to Naruto's annoyance. _"There are still some things I need to work out before I actually prepare it, so be patient for the time being."_ And with that, she cut off the link before Naruto could respond.

Blinking in surprise, Naruto hummed in irritation. "Well…at least I know that I'm good for the next step then." He muttered to himself. But the main point is…what now?

Looking towards Training Area Seven, he watched found that it was still underway, only to snicker as the words **"Konohagakure Hiden Taijutsu Ogi: Sennen Goroshi."** Followed by the sound of a feminine scream…that sounded very familiar…_'Ah…Aka-chan…?'_ Eye's sharpening dangerously; he vanished in a swirl of wind.

* * *

_**(With Kakashi)**_

* * *

Giggling perversely, Kakashi couldn't help but smile between his mask as he continued reading his Icha-Icha. He would be paying more attention to it, but being as he read it for the hundredth time or so, he decided to let his eyes wander for a bit.

He hadn't really changed locations much ever since the beginning of the test. So far, they all hid as soon as it started, but separately. The Last Uchiha is hiding within the tree's a couple yards to his right. The Haruno is out searching for the Uchiha. And Natsumi ended up sending clones after him at the beginning while the original hid.

It was a thought out tactic of observing the enemy from afar while her clones made up the brunt of the attack force. The only problem was that they were quickly destroyed thus erasing any possibilities of her getting any information on him. _'Though I kinda expected Natsumi-chan to understand the real point of the test,'_ He thought inwardly with a frown. She does know him the best out of his prospective Gennin after all.

After that, Natsumi decided to try things up front while creating more clones. The gouges and stabs surrounding him had been caused by her Chakra Chains. While she weaved around him switching between offensive and defensive positions, her clones ended up switching with her via **Kawarimi** when he got too close to the real one. Safe to say it got annoying when she nearly nicked his precious.

Eye's twitching at that, he nodded resolutely. While his sensei would probably kill him for that, it was completely justifiable using the **Sennen Goroshi** on the brat! And on that note, "You're not thinking of helping them," Eye's narrowing; he turned his attention towards the gaki sitting in the center of the three stumps. "This is their test after all." He drawled putting away his book. He couldn't risk his baby with this one around.

* * *

_**(With Sasuke)**_

* * *

Eye's narrowing in surprise; Sasuke jerked his attention towards the Namikaze's brother. Gritting his teeth in irritation, he recalled what the clown did to him the day before and held his hand. Something funny was going on. When did he appear? How was he able to do what he did yesterday to the Jounin?

The Uchiha held no delusions that Hatake was weak. Seeing what he did with Namikaze, the Kunoichi of the year, while reading a book at that shattered that image. He was strong, that much was true. But the bigger question on his mind was how strong the Namikaze's brother was if he was able to switch his position with Hatake's without the Jounin noticing it.

Gaze sharpening, he locked in on the two as he noted Hatake putting away his book. What's more, the Jounin was putting away his book due to the Uzumaki's arrival. Does that mean the man views him more as a threat than him, the rookie of the year, and the Namikaze, the Kunoichi of the year?

Frown deepening into a scowl, he tensed and watched as they both kept their eyes on their other. The Uzumaki's form relaxed, but ready to strike at a moment's notice. The Hatake's tense, but ready to retaliate with strong yet streaking blows he used against the Namikaze and her clones. But what his thoughts were on most was how the Uzumaki's eyes frosted over the moment the Haruno turned her pathetic excuse of a glare towards the dead-last.

They were cold. They were cold and uncaring, but most of all, they reminded him of his brother's eyes when he massacred the clan. His family! Grip tightening, he turned his thoughts on revenge away, for the moment, and turned towards the Uzumaki. The Namikaze once stated that her brother wasn't taught how to use Chakra. Did that make him a prodigy like Itachi? Or did that mean he had a personal Sensei?

Thinking on it, he shook his head. Either way, with the way things are headed, he might just see a glimpse of how strong the Uzumaki is, and just how far he himself has to reaching his brother. So with that thought in mind, he hid himself further into the tree, and watched. _'Show me Uzumaki,'_ He glared. _'Show me how strong you are compared to your sister.'_

* * *

_**(With Kakashi)**_

* * *

"…So, what are you doing here gaki?" Kakashi asked after a moment's silence.

Sitting comfortably at his spot on the stump, Naruto simply gave him an eerie smile in response. "Who knows…?" He replied amusingly. "Maybe I just wanted to have a little chat? Have you thought of that?" The mocking in the boy's tone didn't escape him.

Rolling his eyes, he sighed inwardly at the boy. "A chat with you usually ends up with me in pain gaki. So…no," Shaking his head, his eyes drifted towards the timer and he frowned.

Pouting childishly, Naruto simply looked around the area. His eyes stopping briefly near the treetops before drifting towards the river far off. Turning his attention towards the bells attached to Ero-Inu's waist, he nodded with an appraising gleam in his eyes. "So you're really giving them the bell test." He whispered lightly.

Giving the brat an eye-smile in reply, Kakashi frowned. "I hope you're not planning on helping them Naruto." He drawled lazily. "This is they're test, and they'll have to pass it on they're own. If you interfere, **I will fail them." **

Cackling in response to the Jounin's stony response, Naruto flexed his hands. The sounds of popping bones sounding as his eyes slitted like a certain fox. "Nothing ever goes according to plan Ero-Inu; you should know that more than anyone!" Grin turning feral as Hatake's eyes widened, his canines lengthened as he barked out a brief laugh. "Besides…**I couldn't give a damn is she failed or not."** In fact, he'd welcome it with open arms! Another year with him and Usagi-chan, and another year away from the bloody world of the Shinobi! **"Sennen Goroshi…"** He recalled darkly. **"…Remember how I said Usagi-chan belongs to me!"** He asked rhetorically with a tilt of his head, his fanged grin dropping to an uncaring frown.

Blinking, Kakashi's lone eye crinkled in amusement as he giggled pervertedly. "Hmm…isn't that a bit possessive of you?" He commented lazily. "After all, she is still a girl after all." He said in an admonishing tone. "And that's a bit uncaring of you to not care whether Natsu-chan succeeds or not.

Expression unchanging, Naruto simply hummed a soft eerie tune in response. **"And…"** He replied calmly. **"Usagi-chan is a girl, and she is mine. Aka-chan is also a girl, and my sister, so she is also mine. And whether she succeeds or not doesn't matter to me."** Brushing off the Hatake's lazy glare, he grinned. **"What matters to me is that you touched whats mine. Sennen Goroshi..."** He reminded with a ferally dark smile.

Eye widening in mock understanding, he scratched his head in bemusement. "Hmm…so that is what this is about." He said giving Naruto an eye-smile. "…to think you're this possessive over you own twin sister…" Thoughts returning to his book, he giggled perversely in expectations. "I wonder how Kushina-san and Minato-sensei would think about this." He asked aloud. His response was a round-house kick that slammed into his sides from behind. Disappearing in a puff of smoke, he left Naruto alone in the field with a near murderous expression in his eyes. A note swaying back and forth towards the fragmented log that lied broken on the ground, he snorted in annoyance at what it said before disappearing in a swirl of wind.

"Hmm…Gomen Naru-chan, but I really have to go test the other hopeful Gennin's. I don't to be late after all!" And right under the words was a chibi picture of Hatake giving him the thumbs up while reading his book.

* * *

_**(Several Hour' Later)**_

* * *

Humming in mild irritation, Naruto looked up towards the moon with a soft expression. Kurama was still asleep. Ashe was doing who knows what. And he didn't get to relieve any stress from beating the crap out of Ero-Inu for doing that stupid **Sennen Goroshi** stunt. _'Well…I didn't.'_ He chuckled briefly. The sound of the dogs scream's sounding once again in his mind along with the insane cackles of Aka no Shi echoing through the darkness.

Too bad it wasn't him doing the punishment, but it was his fault for following the dead ends led by Hatake's **Kage Bushin** until the end of the test. One thing led to another, and they all passed due to Aka-chan and the Uchiha sharing their lunch with Haruno who was tied to a stump.

"…Tomorrow is where it all begins." He muttered softly. Eyes drifting towards the Namikaze compound, it lingered for a moment before turning back to the moon. "Natsumi will go on her way to be a Shinobi. Kokoro is working towards her own goal." Blue eyes flickering with specks of amethyst, he frowned. "Just what am I doing?"

* * *

_**Ah...I hope you like the chapter...and please review your...opinions and questions...on it.**_


	16. Chapter 15

_**Ah...I don't own Naruto, but all original Characters and ideas are mine**_

_**Chapter 15**_

* * *

Eye's twitching in thinly veiled exasperation, warm blue eyes stared at the scene in front of him half in bemusement with the other half wondering whether it should laugh out loud or just be plain concerned. Unfortunately, it chose the latter as a client was currently in the room suffocating a poor helpless cat with love and affection…literally.

"Thank you so much Hokage-sama!" The woman exclaimed happily. "You don't know how worried I've been ever since my poor Tora-chan ran away from home!" River like tears streaming down her plump cheeks, she rubbed the cats head crushingly against them. The cat's pained and tortured cries fell on deaf ears. "He is too delicate to live in the unsafe outside world! She's like my own baby!"

Feeling a brief spike of killing intent, Minato discreetly glared the other occupants that filled the room before turning back to Madam Shijimi with a short smile. "I understand how you feel Madam Shijimi, but I implore you to go to the Information Desk to fill out the rest of the paperwork. Afterwards, you can spend as much time as you want with Tora."

Nodding with a sniff, Madam Shijimi turned around and walked out of the room. Hearing the door close with a click, Minato turned to the other four occupants with a raised brow. "Now then…do I want to know why three of you looked like you've been through the shredder?" Warm blue eyes gazing at Team 7 with a baffled look, he eyed their attire with internal disbelief.

The Uchiha had tears all around his clothing with his rights sleeve literally hanging by a thread. Cuts and bruises littering his pale face with a small paw mark located on the center of his left cheek. A belt tied around his shorts for some reason. Haruno Sakura, however, did have her sleeves torn off with her expression frazzled and her hair filled with twigs and dirt. His daughter was, otherwise, fine besides a bit of dirt and grime on her clothing, but what really caught his attention was Hatake Kakashi's appearance.

His Flak Jacket had looked as if it had been through a typhoon, ready to fall to pieces at the gentlest breeze. His pants and sleeves had several dozen tears and holes in them with his hair itself hanging down his head with yellowish liquid dripping from its tips. His right shinobi sandal was missing as well as his kunai pouch. And apparently, right after Madam Shijimi left, he dropped to the ground in a heap cradling the remains of what seemed to be his Icha-Icha.

"That…that cat is…a demon…" The man sobbed pitifully. "It harmed the preciouses! It harmed her! It harmed her!" Kakashi mumbled in a fanatical whisper before breaking into more silent sobs.

'…_Okay.'_ Turning to the other two Gennin, he frowned when the Uchiha glared at him while the Haruno simply ignored him in favor of watching the Uchiha with a mild flush decorating her cheeks. "So…mind telling me what happened?" He asked turning to Natsumi.

Blinking, she simply stared before giving her reply. "The cat knew Naruto," as if it explained everything, which it didn't. Before he could ask anything else, the sound of the Daimyo's wife screaming shook the Hokage Tower. "TORA-CHAN…!" followed by the sound of a cackling meow jolted Kakashi from the floor with his lone eye gleaming in vengeance.

"Yes, THAT BLASTED CAT SHALL PAY OR HARMING THE PRESCIOUSES!" He cackled maniacally. "IT SHALL PAY!" And with that, he disappeared in a swirl of leaves leaving his otherwise nervous Gennin behind.

Staring at the Jounin's previous spot, the Hokage simply shook his head in dismay. _'I knew I shouldn't have introduced him to sensei.' _Turning to the Gennin, he gave them a small grin. "…Since your Jounin sensei is currently out of action, come back here tomorrow morning for your next mission."

* * *

_**(Several Miles Away)**_

* * *

Smiling softly in thought, cerulean eyes twinkled in mirth. Looking down towards the village from his perch, he let a brief chuckle escape his lips. "It looks like you had fun, Tora."

Stretching its back along Naruto's lap, the cat simply purred in response. Humming in amusement, he scratched behind the cat's ear with a small grin. Shifting his back against the tree, he simply stared down at the busy streets of Konohagakure with a small frown.

Things…have been rather lax these last two weeks. Natsumi is doing D-rank missions most of the day with her team. Usagi-chan has been working on something within the confines of her home. The villager's seemed to finally get it through their thick skulls that they should stop their assaults before they lose a lot more than they bargained for. And Ashe seemed to be busy with preparing for the Fourth Step she told him about. Kurama seemed to be sleeping his furry ass off most of the time to.

"**I'm not lazy brat."** Said fox snapped in irritation. **"Watching you waste your time is boring me to tear's here."** Resting his head back on his arms, he left one eye opened with a warning. **"Find something to do, or I will."**

Chuckling despite the blatant threat, he took that as a simple sigh that he was getting lazy. Turning towards the cat, he grinned. "Hey Tora…mind showing me what kind of chaos you caused today?"

Lifting her head lazily, said cat stared at the multi-colored blonde with a slitted amber eye before stretching her back. Seeing the small mischievous grin on Tora's whiskered face, Naruto's grin widened as he pressed his forefinger's lightly against her forehead. And just like that, a stream of images began rushing into the forefront of his mind.

* * *

_**(Flashback—Several Hours Earlier)**_

* * *

_Beady amber eyes flitting from side to side, she purred in content at the sound of scurrying mice. Grinning ferally, she licked her lips in zealous enthusiasm at today's dinner. Oh how she would relish the taste of the little morsels squeaking for help as she crushed their tiny little necks under her mighty paws._

"A bit vain of you, don't you think." Naruto added with a grin.

Grinning slyly, Tora simply meowed in response. _Now back to the story. Just as she was about to begin her glorious hunt, she stopped when the familiar sound of thundering reached her ears. The scent of iron flooding her senses as the clanging of metal rang throughout the alleyway. Claws flexing reflexively, she hissed in annoyance._

'So the pesky vermin has come again Nyahh.'_ She scowled inwardly. _'They've come to interrupt such a glorious occasion to take me back to that…that…that vile beast!'_ Ear's curling in disgust, Tora turned around and scanned throughout the alleyway. The sound of metal and steel silenced, but the scent of dried iron flooding the air and filled her with slight anticipation. It was always a joy for her to teach these infidels who's the superior being on this planet!_

…_If only it didn't end with her getting caught in the end. _'Maybe I shouldn't have made that pesky deal with that human boy in exchange for fresh mackerel?'_ It was a known delicacy for cats, but she should know better than to fall for such simple desires. It was beneath her status after all!_

"Yet you still took the fish." Naruto commented with a teasing grin.

Eye's twitching, Tora swiped at the boy with her clawed paws "Nyahh (Do you want me to tell the story or not!?)." She hissed.

"I thought this was a flashback." He retorted dodging another annoyed swipe.

_Snapping her head around suddenly, her eyes slitted dangerously; and she hissed at the pink haired human that tried to sneak up behind her with that infernal cage of theirs. Seeing her flinch, she grinned triumphantly before lunging forward jaws gaping. Her fangs sinking into the girls exposed kneecap while her gloriously sharp claws stabbed into the sides of her shin causing her to drop the cage from the sudden pain._

_Retracting her teeth with a hiss, she leaped back and sprinted deeper into the alleyway. Paws softly pressing against the soft earth, her ears flitted side to side searching for any sudden sounds. Taking a left at the next corner, her ears picked up the sound of buzzing. But the twitching of her fur told her that it was not those pesky flies again, but those odd metal devices that these humans use to communicate from far away._

_Stopping abruptly, her whiskers twitched once, twice, and trice times when she felt the air around her shift. Leaping to the side, she hissed threatingly as a duck haired boy dropped from the sky above her. Taking a couple steps back, she slowly calmed down when the boy made no motion of approaching her. Hiss dropping to a low, she tilted her head to the side with narrowed gaze as the boy slowly began to get closer. After a couple seconds of silence, she calmed down completely and looked as cute as she can be and more. When the boy finally made his move to pick her up, her eyes glinted with bloodthirsty vengeance as she jolted forward snapping her jaws down tightly on the fools hand._

_Seeing the boy flinch slightly, but otherwise made no move at jerking away, Tora glared right into the boy's dark brown almost coal black eyes. After a couple seconds of silence, she jerked her head away dragging her teeth out of the boy's skin. Now that made him wheel forward in surprise, but she didn't stop there as she leaped to his face. Spiraling around the boy's body in a flurry of fangs and claws, she grinned ferally every time they sank into the fool's skin as she weaved and dodged around the boy's grabbing hands._

_So caught up in her own carnage, she did not notice the hand that snatched tightly around her tail making her meow in sudden pain. Snapping her head around, she glared angrily at the boy who looked oh so smug. Hissing, she slapped the boy's cheek with her paw snapping it to the side. His jaw gapping in surprise for a single moment, and in that moment, she reeled her head back and spat of wad of blood right into the opening between the duck haired boy's lips. The action causing the boy to backpedal away after letting go of her tail in shock before he slipped on a conveniently placed glass bottle._

_Landing gracefully on her feet, she watched in amusement as the boy dropped into a pile of garbage bags. Purring in amusement, her face twitched before she spat another wad of blood into the pile of trash. _'The duck boy's blood tastes too much like tomato.'_ Licking her lips, she padded her tail softly with her paws. "Nyahh, nyahh~ (That is not how you should treat a lady of my caliber! You should be ashamed of yourself Human Duck!)!"_

_Hissing for one final moment, her eyes reared back in annoyance at the sudden screech of, "SASUKE-KUN!"_ _Must these pesky humans be so loud!? She groaned inwardly. Tilting her head to the side, she watched as a pathetically familiar pink haired human ran up to the groaning boy seated in the garbage._

_Leaping towards the screeching human's back, she dragged her claws down on her blindingly red attire creating several tears in it wide enough to show her back skin. Leaping back as the girl snapped around at the sudden pain of her claws, she watched as the girls emerald eyes turned to her with a vengeance. Tilting her head to the side, Tora simply turned to the rising boy with a look that simply screamed, "What…is she the best you can do?"_

_The boy's face then twisted with raging annoyance, but Tora couldn't help but give him a mocking bow that no doubt confused them into silence before streaking out of the alleyway and into the streets. This part of the streets were just teaming with humans this time of day, so it'll just make it harder for those pesky kittens to catch her._

_Weaving through the feet and legs of the humans littering the street, she appeared as a blur to the Shinobi that gave chase to her from far behind. Though in Tora's fabulous brilliant mind, she knew that something was up. These kittens usually came in groups of three with the boss cat directing their movement._

_She recognized the pink haired and duck haired humans from what the blond haired human, Naruto, told her. In that case, Naruto's twin sister should also be in the group, but she has yet to see the inexperienced kitten anywhere. _

_After a couple minutes of silence, Tora simply slowed down her pace in slight confusion. The amount of Human's in the street had lessened considerably, but the other two chasing her had all but vanished. Whiskers twitching, she finally came to a stop when the scent of iron left the area. There were still traces mind you, but the one's where the scent originated from had all but vanished._

_Tilting her head to the side in suspicion, Tora licked her paws in silence when her ears flattened against her skull. Nose wrinkling, she looked ahead to see a familiar shade of red pop into sight. It wasn't the shade of red she was awfully familiar with, but it was familiar none the less. Purring softly in content, she noted that the girl looked just like that other red headed girl that came to this village a while back. Wrinkling her nose at the thought, she purred in silence. The air in the village was filled with so much iron those days. Oh so much iron. _'Human's truly are stupid creatures.'_ She thought pitifully._

"Oi, in case you haven't noticed," Naruto started with a pout. "I'm human."

Staring at the boy with thinly veiled eyes, Tora simply gave him a wry smile in response. "Nyahh…nyahh, nyahh-nyahh (That all depends on what you think is human…but, you might be in for a surprise later in your life. Whether you like it or not are none of my concerns, but that doesn't mean that I still don't think of you as an idiot personally!)" Ignoring the boy's confusion, she simply licked her paws and purred in amusement.

_So…this human is considered to be Naruto's twin…? Staring at her blankly for a couple moments, she replaced the blonde's hair with red and nyahhed in slight understanding. A bit uncanny in appearance, but not much for one to guess that they actually were twins._

_Mentally shrugging her shoulders, she stared at the girl with slight curiosity. The girls scent is completely different from the boy's own…but that story is for another time. Walking up towards the girl, Tora purred in content when she scratched the bottom of her chin. Licking her fingers, the cat grinned in mischievous as she stood up on both hind legs and bowed to the girl. Right afterwards, Tora simply cackled inwardly at stunning the girl into silence before sprinting away._

_Around a dozen minutes later, she was seen streaking through the bushes of the forest. Her whiskers twitching in amusement as the full group of Gennin lay all around her. Since the Kittens were still inexperienced in the ways of the hunt, it was simply child's play for Tora to lead the majority of them into ditches, dried mud, trees, puddles, and into nests of rabid chipmunks._

…_Except for the red head though. She was still the boy's sister no matter how much she didn't look like him. So she at least spared her the chaos that was the mighty Tora-sama! Besides…she reminds her of that girly blonde idiot a while back. It was more fun to baffle him into silence than torture him._

_Purring at the fond memories, she looked around her current area and grinned wickedly at the arrangement of the surrounding trees. Vanishing into the foliage, she cackled inwardly in glee. After a couple seconds passed, the duck haired boy arrived into the small clearing, but she waited. When he paced closer to the tree, she waited. When his eyes shifted around the area, she waited. But when it looked like he was finally going to leave, she shot forward in a brown streak claws outstretched._

_Before the Uchiha even knew what was happening, he was bombarded from all sides as a brown streak shot from tree to tree tearing at his clothing and giving him more scratches than he could count. Eyes snapping towards the blur, he was about to make a grab for it when the sound of snapping reached his ears. Turning to the side, he watched as Haruno Sakura walked into the clearing right afterwards. The brown blur slashing right past his shorts and into the bushes. Before he could even say anything though, Sakura's face flushed red as the straps holding his shorts up finally broke apart before falling to the ground._

_Far away, Tora could only snicker at the sound of exited squealing. It was obvious that the girl had affections for the boy, so she simply pushed things along a little. Purring in content, she stopped for a moment as the sound of giggling reached her ears. Looking up, her eyes narrowed into slits at the sight of the silver haired man reading an orange book. She has no care for literature these days, but from what she recalled. That book was created by the foolish man that calls himself a super pervert._

_Tilting her head to the side, she silently climbed up the tree and softly onto a branch a couple feet above the silver haired human. Instead of noticing her, he simply seemed more concerned with the next page of that infernal book. Staring the pages from above, she simply huffed inwardly in annoyance. Humans these days are so tame in their mating rituals. But…the names Narumi and Natsuto—_

"Wait, he's still reading that volume!?" Naruto gaped in surprise. "And I thought I destroyed all of his copies!"

Tapping her paws softly on the boy's forehead, Tora simply glared at him to be quite. "Nyahh-nyahh-nyahh…nyahh-nyahh (Must you continue to interrupt my glorious tale boy. I know you humans have issues with this kind of thing, but I personally, thing you're blowing things out of proportions here. Besides…my statement about humans being idiots has been renewed if they can't even see the pathetic word play within the names. Narumi…Natsuto…really, is that the best this so-called super pervert can come up with?)."

Eyes twitching at the cat, Naruto simply hummed in silence. Feeling Tora's stare, he chuckled sheepishly in realization. "Ah…sorry for interrupting…you can continue."

_Really, humans these days have no manners what-so-ever when someone is telling a story. Completely discarding the fact that she was currently tearing through the fourth wall, she simply turned her attention back to the Jounin in silence. Claws flexing, she watched idly as they lengthen to be several centimeters long with the tips digging sharply into the trunks of the branch below her. Grin dropping into a bored frown, she dropped down from above onto the man's lap._

"_Ara…hello kitty," He asked with an eye smile. "You wouldn't happen to be Tora, would you?" He asked eyed the bow located on the cat's ear._

_Turning her head, Tora did the first thing that came to mind. She flexed her claws, and slashed right at the book in front of her tearing it into pieces. The silver haired man's lone eye widening in shock, the cat simply sighed in annoyance before it began to tear apart the man in front of her. After a couple seconds, she climbed on his head and left when the feeling of satisfaction filled her senses. Dropping from the man's head, she simply landed on the ground as the yellow liquid that dripped from the man's hair jolted him out of his shocked state._

_Just as Tora was about to jolt away, she felt her ears being scratched and purred. Meowing in content, she simply purred into the hand and eyed the red headed human in mild bemusement. Claws flexing, Tora traced a small picture on the ground showing the girl a make-shift picture of her brother._

* * *

_**(Flashback End)**_

* * *

Chuckling, Naruto stared at the cat before him with a wide grin. "You really are a strange cat, you know that Tora." He hummed softly.

"Nyahh (I'll take that as a compliment.)." Tora replied stretching on his lap

Humming in amusement, he simply turned to the Hokage Tower in the distance with a small frown. Gaze lingering, his lips twitched momentarily before he turned back to the cat. "Are you sure you're not some strange summoning cat or something?" He asked after a moment's silence. "Because I'm pretty sure being able to tear through thick books, outrunning Shinobi, and being able to read is not something any normal feline can do." Tora simply responded with a soft pat with her paw on his nose.

Pouting, he simply chuckled as the cat snoozed away. _'Well, if she's not a summoning cat, then maybe she's some sort of familiar—"_

"_THAT'S IT!"_ Jolting forward in surprise at Ashe's sudden announcement, he hear a low growl and chuckled sheepishly when Tora glared at him in annoyance before going back to sleep.

'…_What do you mean that's it?'_ Naruto asked after a moment's silence.

"_The Fourth Step,"_ She chirped back. _"I've been wondering how I should implement it due to my current predicament, but you just gave me an idea that might just work!"_

'…_I did?"_

Eye's snapping open, crimson red eyes blinked in confusion at the sudden conversation before he caught onto what she meant. **"OH HELL NO!"** He roared in sudden fury. **"THERE IS NO WAY IN THE SEVEN CIRCLES OF HELL THAT I'M GOING TO GO THROUGH THE FUCKING HUMILIATION EVER AGAIN! SO HELP ME, I WILL FORCE THROUGH THE STUPID CAGE IF I HAVE TO YOU—"**

"_I can tweak it so those eyes will never be able to take control ever again."_ Ashe interrupted with a wave of her hand.

Eye's flashing, he was about to continue shouting when her words finally registered. **"…I'm listening."**

"_Besides, just think about the benefits hear." _She whispered with an eerie grin. _"It'll be easier to train Naruto to be strong, and you'll finally be able to walk out into the world without having to be shot at every couple milliseconds! Just think of the possibilities, the chaos!"_

Blinking, Naruto could only chuckle nervously at where they're conversation was going. Because he sure as hell don't, but he can just feel it in his gut that it won't end well for him. **"…How long will it take to get the preparations ready?"** Kurama asked with eerie enthusiasm.

"_A day or two in the at best,"_ She giggled maniacally. _"The formula itself is child's play, but tweaking it will take a bit of time along with reviewing it to make sure nothing will explode in a violently gory manner."_

Feeling a bit queasy at how casually she said those words, he frowned. _'You mind bringing me into your conversation?'_ He asked nervously. Feeling two pairs of psychotic eyes on him, he felt an icy shiver of dread crawl up his spine.

"**I agree."** And with, the connection between him and the sadistic fox was cut. _'…Ashe…'_ He whimpered.

Giggling softly, she shook her head in response. _"Sorry fishcake, but I don't want to ruin the surprise."_ Eyes softening, her grin warmed a couple levels. _"Besides, you'll like it in the end, and when it happens, I'll decide whether or not to start the Fourth Step immediately depending on your reaction."_ Before he could ask anything, the connection between him and her was cut. Her last words being, _"Visit your Usagi-chan if you're feeling lonely."_

Pouting at being left out of the conversation, he wondered what she meant when she said he'll like it. Frowning, he hummed in soft irritation before following exactly what she said. He's getting the urge to cuddle with a rabbit.

* * *

_**(Thirty Minutes Later—Kokoro's Apartment)**_

* * *

Staring down at the cubes displayed on her table, Kokoro simply sighed at her lack of progress. They were the size of her fist, but other than that, nothing really changed. Picking up one of them, she stared at the deep blue lines that trailed along its surface making sharp turns every now and then. On the table were several other cubes with different colored lining, but other than that, it's still the same.

Thoughts flashing back to the last couple weeks, her frown deepened at the lack of contact she had with Naruto. Ever since that time at the Team Selections, she's been drawing herself further into her project with little success. That time with Mizuki-sensei was the first time she's ever been in an actual fight to…as well as the first time using the **Remnants** in an actual combat.

It looked like it was going well in the beginning, but when Mizuki-sensei turned into that…tiger hybrid. They've were little more than annoyances for him. Putting more energy into them would increase they're power, but it still didn't change the fact that she was stuck on the sidelines while Naruto and Natsumi fought on the front-lines. _'…Ah…now that I think about it…I was taken out with a single hit…'_ Just one hit, and she had been knocked out of the fight.

Staring at them for a couple more moments, a sigh escaped her lips before she pushed the chair back and stood up. Pushing those thoughts to the back of her mind for the moment, she looked around her apartment. It was a decent sized place to live in with the money she had.

There were three four separate rooms in her home. There was one for the bathroom, the living room, her kitchen, and her bedroom being the last. Right now she was in the kitchen which was a ten by fifteen square room with a small table in the center of the room and the refrigerator, stove, and cabinets holding all the dishes on the far corner.

Walking out and into the living room, she stopped before moving back to the kitchen. Snapping her fingers; the cubes that lay harmlessly on the table dissolved into black dust that vanished into the air. Nodding, she moved back into the living room.

This room was at least twice as large as the Kitchen with a green sofa placed at its center facing the TV. Turning to her right, she eyed the door at the end of the hallway that lead outside of apartment. Turning to her left, she walked over and closed the curtains blocking her view of the small veranda where she waters her plants. Other than that, there was a simple square drawer four feet tall and six feet wide right next to the TV with several framed photos displayed on its surface.

Stopping in front of them, she picked up the photo in the middle and plopped herself down on the sofa. Tracing her fingers softly against the cool glass casing, she smiled briefly at the photo's contents. "Ah…whose the black haired woman trying to dress like a man?" Jolting forward in surprise, she was about to fall off the sofa when a pair of arms wrapped tightly around her waist. "You're a bit uppity aren't you Usagi-chan!?" Naruto's voice chuckled good-naturally.

Blinking in confusion, she didn't protest when Naruto pulled her back as she was more concerned with his sudden appearance. "Naruto…what are you doing…in my apartment?" She asked.

Raising a brow, his grin softened. "Just a bit bored really," He admitted. "With Aka-chan always on her missions these days I've been feeling a bit lonely because you've haven't been there to cuddle with me." Grin widening, he placed her firmly in his lap before plopping his chin in her soft hair. "I need my adorable Usagi-chan to cuddle~ with!" He whined childishly tightening his grip around her waist.

Flushing lightly at his words, she pressed the frame closer to her chest. After a couple seconds, she finally noticed her position in between Naruto's legs before her flush darkened a couple shades of red. "A…ah…Na-Na-Naruto…why…why…ah…uhm…et-t-t-to," Babbling incoherently, she looked down as her flush seemed to spread to her entire body darkening several more shades of red.

Noting it with slight amusement, the cause chuckled. "Ah…Usagi-chan…is that steam I see coming out of your ears?" He asked playfully. "…And you're calling my name without the suffix…how bold of my little **rabbit**!" He grinned whispering into her ears. Before he could even think of doing anymore, his skin bristled as he felt a familiar glare burning into the back of his skull. _'Must you continue to ruin my fun you infernal chicken!?'_ He growled irritably at said raven. The bird's feathers simply cackled with electricity.

Humming in annoyance, he chuckled before moving Kokoro away from his lap and onto the space right next to him. "Sorry if I made you a bit uncomfortable Usagi-chan."

Flush dying down a couple shades after a moment's silence, Kokoro simply shook her head from side to side. "It's…okay, but please…don't do that again…" She whispered with a small frown.

Nodding in response, Naruto simply gave her a reassuring grin. "Don't worry; I won't do anything unless you want me to." He chuckled warmly. "…at least until you show me your bedroom that it."

Flush deepening, she simply responded by slamming a nearby sofa cushion into Naruto's face. All she got was a laugh though, but after a couple moments, she couldn't help but giggle herself. Unknown to her, Naruto was peeking through the sides of the pillow with eyes filled with relieved warmth.

He had been in the building for a while now, and he could tell that Kokoro was worrying about something. _'And judging by how she was staring at those cubes…'_ it was probably about how she could get stronger. The obvious cause being their fight with that traitorous insect a while back. "So Usagi-chan…is that woman in the photo you're mother?" Cause if it was…at least he could say he knew where she got her eyes from.

Giggling much to Naruto's confusion, she shook her head. "No…that's my Dad." She said showing him the photo. Seeing his gaping expression, she nodded in agreement. In the photo, her father stood at a height of '5'08'' with carefully trimmed shoulder length messy black hair with a dark blue tint to it. His bangs cut just above his eyes with a couple strands reaching a bit farther. He had a slightly pale complexion with sharp honey brown doe like eyes and a heart shaped face. He had a thin lithe form that looked dainty, but firm. He was currently wearing a long sleeved red shirt with a dark blue vest over it and slightly baggy black jeans.

"At first glance…he really does look like…a woman, doesn't he?" She asked with a short giggle.

Nodding dumbly, he shook his head from side to side with a grin. "You're right…he really does look like one." He was smiling, but inwardly, he couldn't help but frown. If that was her father…then why is she living alone?

Nodding, she pulled the photo back to her chest with a smile. "You're wondering…why he isn't here…right?" She asked with a small smile.

Nodding sheepishly, Naruto simply flushed in slight embarrassment. "Sorry…"

Closing her eyes, she shook her head. "It's okay…but…the reason he's not here…is because he's in a place…I can never reach." She whispered.

Eye's dimming; he squirmed uncomfortably on the spot, idly wondering if there was a brick wall nearby where he could ram his head through for being such an idiot. _'So her father's dead…but what about her mother…?'_

"…What was he like?" He asked after a moment's silence.

"An idiot,"

"Eh…?" Blinking in surprise, he stared at her with a look mixed with confusion and bemusement.

Giggling at Naruto's expression, her eyes seemed to brighten in remembrance. "He was an idiot. He…blew things out of proportions. He…was overprotective…the literal personification of a man-child…" She started slowly with a shaky grin. "He was kind…he was insane…he was selfish…he did whatever he wanted…without care if he gotten hurt…or injured. He was filled with…so much warmth and love…he was always happy…but at the same time…lonely." Fingers shaking, she stared into the frame with shaking hands. "He would always…put up a strong front…reassuring us that he was fine…even when everyone knew…he wasn't." Feeling tear's steam down her cheeks, she leaned back into the sofa to prevent the tears from dripping onto the frame. "Naruto..."

"…Yes." He responded.

"…Do you know why…people die for others?" She asked him barely above a whisper.

"…I think it's different from person to person," He started with a hesitant frown. "But I feel from what you told me…I think that your father would say it's because seeing his family, you and your mother, get hurt…would hurt him more than any injury, physical or mental, ever could." Stopping for a moment, he shook his head from side to side. "But I wouldn't know as I never met him."

Sniffing, she wiped away her tears and stared at the photo with a warm smile. "Close…but do you want to…know what his favorite saying was?" She asked turning to meet him in the eyes.

"What was it?"

"…_Never lose faith…never stop praying…because the moment you stop believing…is the moment the world as you know it…will come to an end."_ She whispered reciting word for word.

Raising a brow in amusement, he couldn't help but chuckle. "And what does that mean, my dear Usagi-chan?" He asked returning her gaze.

"It means…that the moment you lose faith…is the moment you'll stop trying." She said with a smile. "The moment you stop praying…is the moment you stop caring."

Staring right into her eyes, he couldn't help but feel as if he was being drawn in. "And the moment you stop believing…" He whispered leaning forward.

"…is the moment you give everything up." She finished silently. Leaning forward, eyes drawn into their others, their lips were just a moment's breaths away. Hand moving forward, she felt his warm breath prickling against her skin as she drew closer. His eye's boring deep into hers, they're lips were just about to meet when a screeching caw jolted them back into reality.

Blinking, they stared into each other's eyes for a moment before realizing how close they were. Jolting back to their spots flushing red, Naruto simply looked around finding the dust bunnies oddly intriguing while Kokoro simply flushed several shades of red again.

Taking a deep breath as his flush died down, he pushed back the thoughts on how close his lips were to touching Kokoro's to the back of his mind. He did **not **want to continue their previous interaction. He did **not** want to stare deeply into her eyes and get lost in the warmth and innocence that flooded her honey brown shades. He did **not** want to hold her and never let go. He did **not** want hold her hand and feel the soft tingle that occurred when brushing their bare skin's together. **He was not!**

In the back of his mind, Kurama could only watch with an amused quirk of his lips. **"Me think's the boy doth protests too much."** He commented amusingly. One would no doubt here some ravenous comment from an insane snow haired woman, but she was currently gushing at how cute her little fishcake was acting at the moment.

Closing his eyes briefly as she described her father, he couldn't help but feel that he would have gotten along greatly with the guy…at least until he proved to the man he could protect Usagi-chan. Because before that, he was sure they would be at each other's throats until then. But despite all that, he sounds vaguely familiar. _**'Oh that's right, she nearly described the current Naruto to a T.'**_ He was still a child, so man child was out of the picture for the moment. His lone red eye drifting idly towards the vixen, he couldn't help but wonder if this was the kind of person she intended for Naruto to become…albeit with a couple tweaks here and there.

'…_**bah, who knows what that crazy woman is up to?'**_ He muttered inwardly. There was no greater person in manipulation than she in this world at the moment…well…that depends if that other jackass from before is still here. Then by all means, he wins hands down.

Back with Naruto, the situation was barely beginning to calm down as thoughts of their near kiss were pushed firmly to the back of his mind…for the moment. Humming uncomfortably, he couldn't help but break out into brief laughs at how awkward the situation from. Thinking about it now, he simply continued laughing only to be followed by Kokoro and her giggles.

After a couple long moments of laughs and giggles, the tension in the room seemed to wash away along with the previous scenes. Laughter dropping to low chuckles, Naruto grinned. "Your father lives by a good motto."

Nodding, Kokoro smiled warmly in remembrance. "He does." Thinking for a moment, she idly recalled that he also had the same problems she had. He created and used the **Remnants**. Frowning suddenly, for some reason, she could never recall her father telling her stories of him ever being on the sidelines during battle. He attacked from long range sure, but his greatest skill was how he tore through his enemies with ease.

She's only heard stories, and she never actually saw him fight before. Searching her memories, the last thing she could actually recall was what seemed like a set of…_'that's it…'_ Grinning widely in anticipation, she couldn't help but feel exited at the fact that she finally figured out what to do next. The only problem was that she didn't have the actual product…and that she only ever saw it that one time before everything…

Shaking those thoughts away, she nodded with a determined grin. Turning to Naruto, she couldn't help but stare as he seemed to be in an intense staring contest with the electrical raven. Giggling at the sight, she shook her head before tugging at his sleeves. "Naruto…" She called drawing his attention. "…can I ask you…for a favor…?"

Turning away from the overgrown chicken, he turned to face his Usagi-chan with a grin. "Anything…as long as it's physically possible and will not result in the mental scarring of my beautifully psychotic brain! I still need whats left of it after all!"

Smile twitching in amusement, she nodded before her eyes set into a determined gaze. "I…want you…to make me stronger…"

"Eh…?" Blinking in surprise, he gave her his full attention at hearing those words. "Come again?"

"…I want to get stronger…but there's only so…much I can do on…my own." She admitted with a frown. "I don't want…to have to watch…as my friends….put themselves in harm's way…while I simply watch from…a safe distance." Recalling how she was taken out in one hit, her frown deepened. "I want…to be able to protect…those that I care…about instead of watching…them get hurt because of me." She said looking deep into Naruto's eyes.

Frowning inwardly at her declaration, he hummed in thought. He doesn't really want her to get hurt, but he knows how she feels a bit. If it was him on the sidelines watching as his friends got hurt, it would drive him insane with how weak he was. But she was more than helpful in that fight against Torazuki a while back. Closing his eyes after a couple moments, he hummed in slight irritation after coming to a conclusion. "Well…I'm not exactly fit to teach anyone…" He started slowly making her head dip in disappointment. "…but I can go ahead and help you as a sparring partner if you want?"

Thinking on it for a moment, she nodded earning a grin from him. "Now than," He said slowly getting up from the couch. "Apparently I've been here longer than I've thought." He commented jutting his finger towards the clock near the TV. "Though I could always stay the night and catch up on some cuddle time." His reply was a soft cushion to the face.

* * *

_**Ah...sorry if the chapter was a bit short...but I hoped you enjoyed it. Review...if you have any questions...or if I made any mistakes...or just in your opinions in general.**_


	17. Chapter 16

_**Ah...I don't own Naruto...but all Original Characters and ideas are mine**_

_**Chapter 16**_

* * *

_**A/N: Ah...sorry if it took a while...but I'm not to...experienced with...these type of...scenes. And...I've just...thought of something...but should I add in the movies...or not?**_

* * *

"…Ano…Naruto-san…" A feminine voice squeaked.

"Ah…I'm back to the –san suffix here?" Pouting at that, he couldn't help but chuckle when his Usagi-chan batted at him with a sofa cushion. Her flustered expression being a treasure that he would remember forever "Is this because of that bed joke I made yesterday…" He asked with a wry grin. "Or is it because it **was** a joke, and if so, I can always go through with i—"Ducking his head to the side, his eyes twitched in annoyance when a beam of lightning shot past his skull.

Turning to glare at the annoying automatic bird, literal sparks of electricity flashed between their eyes. Really, if it wasn't for the fact that the bird belonged to Usagi-chan, he would have made fried chicken out of the thing. The fact that it wasn't an actual bird be damned. _'If I could somehow make pocky out of ramen, then I can sure as hell make chicken out of a machine!'_

…and for some odd reason, the bird seemed to have understood his thoughts. But maybe that was just him getting riled up at the fact that it actually sighed in smug disappointment. Its blue eyes glinting mockingly at him, his fingers twitched, but before he could do anything, he was hit again with another cushion. "Naruto-san…I thought…we were going to train…today."

Tearing his gaze away from the bird, a grin split his face as he turned to face his Usagi-chan in amusement. "Oh we are Usagi-chan, but there are a few stops we have to make first before we can actually do anything." A few…interesting stops, but stops none the less. "Why do you ask?"

"…because it looks…like I'm dressed for a…d-d-date…" _'And indeed she is.'_ Naruto thought giddily. Looking at her now, he couldn't help but admire how adorable she looked…and anyone who thought otherwise would find themselves twenty yards under…and those who agree would find themselves seventy yards under for the audacity of staring at his beloved Usagi-chan with their lecherous horny eyes. _'Filthy mutts…'_

Thoughts turning back to his rabbit, his ear splitting grin shrunk to a small soft smile. Usagi-chan's bangs were combed to the side of her cheeks and were held there by a bunny shaped hairclip, the left being black with red eyes, and the left being white with blue eyes. Other than that, she was wearing a dark blue tank-top with short sleeved reddish brown vest over it. The final touches were blue jeans that were slightly baggy around her ankles, but fit her waist perfectly in his opinions. He wanted to put her hair into a short ponytail, but apparently she was too flustered at the idea of showing her bare neck like that.

…then again…maybe having her in such an adorable outfit is a bad idea after…? His Usagi-chan is so adorable and cute that some random insect might just try and get near her. Of course he'd squash said bug before it would get within several kilometers from her, there's only so many he can squash before the posers in black end up slamming down on him from the sky for painting the streets red. On the other hand, by doing this, he could also show these filthy insects that he means business when he claimed her and Aka-chan a while back. So many things to consider, and while he continued these thoughts, Ashe could only wonder where he got that overthinking habit of his. She completely ignored her pets accusing glare.

As for Kokoro…she could only stare in confusion as a variety of emotions flashed through Naruto's face. Blinking, she turned to Raven and frowned. "Do you have any idea…what he's thinking about?"

Tilting its head in response, blue eyes simply glared balefully at the blonde fool in front of it. Picking at its feathers, it sighed inwardly admitting that it was at least agreeing with the fool's current train of thought. That didn't stop it from shooting a not-so-friendly beam of electricity at his head though, even if the boy dodged it like always at the last second.

"Alright, that bird has problems." Naruto declared blandly, his fingers twirling around a singed bang. "Anyway, as for your earlier question," He started with a grin. "You're dressed for a date because you're going to be **on** a date."

"…Eh…?"

"But that's not to say we're not going to train anytime soon, it's just that I need to make some preparations before then." Reaching into his vest, he pulled out a small hexagonal blue crystal. "So before then, I'd thought it would be better if we explored some areas within the village. Mostly spots where I hang around, just in case if you need to find me an all that." Clasping his hands together in a prayer with the crystal in between, he closed his eyes and took in a deep slow breathe. After a couple seconds, his hands began to glimmer slightly as small streams of white fog escaped through the cracks between his fingers.

Curious, but confused, Kokoro simply watched patiently. Though unknown to her, the Raven was simply eyeing Naruto's form with an eerie glint in its eyes before flapping its wings and hopping onto Kokoro's right shoulder. In that moment, Naruto released a steady stream of icy fog from his lips and sighed, a bead of sweat dripping down his chin much to Kokoro's surprise.

Opening his eyes, they flashed a glacial shade before returning to their normal cerulean. Unclasping his hands, he held out his left towards his Usagi-chan with a soft smile. "Here, it's just something I'm giving you as thanks for all you've done!" He chirped cheerily.

"Eh…but, I haven't really done…anything to—"Without warning, Naruto disappeared from her sight. Arms reaching over her shoulders from behind, she could only listen to the small clicking sound of a clasp being closed. Feeling something cool to the touch press against her skin, she looked down with a small frown. Her eyes lingering on the necklace around her neck, she turned around to face him. "…Why…?"

Closing his eyes, he simply walked passed her with wistful grin playing on his lips. "Who knows…but if I said that, then I'd be lying." He replied turning to face her. "As I said, it's a thank you gift for all you've done for me." Eye's drifting discreetly at the necklace; his smile widened just a smidgen. The crystal was floating freely around in water placed within an ovular casing of transparent ice. Both tips of the egg like casing were connected to a black chain similar to his own.

"I…did something for…you…?" She pondered questionly. She couldn't recall doing anything good enough for her to receive a gift like this.

_'More than you know.'_ He thought softly before smiling. "Anyway, let's get going onto our romantic date!" He exclaimed cheerfully grabbing her hand. So caught up in his thoughts, he missed the perpetual blush that dusted Kokoro's cheeks.

* * *

_**(With Ashe)**_

* * *

Deep within the recesses of the bunker, demonic red eyes gleamed in mild curiosity. How Naruto would know what an underground bunker looked like, she'd never know. Because apparently, neither does the boy himself, and there are no records of it within his memories either.

Listening to the sound of booming laughter, Ashe chuckled in mild amusement. She'll have to look up the memories to see what the fox found so amusing about her fishcakes little date. And speaking of date…maybe she should withhold the girl's identity from Naruto just in case. Seeing that photo of her father yesterday simply proved her theories as to how she was able to use the **Remnants.** As for how the hell she ended up here…

Shaking those thoughts away, she decided to think about it more at a later time. Right now, reviewing Naruto's current mindset takes priority for tomorrow's preparations. Eye's drifting, her lips twitched into a short smile as she noticed the large amount of cracks on the surrounding walls. While the current amount would instigate serious concern, the fact that Naruto had twice if not three times as much several weeks ago would have drawn an even worse reaction. Right now, it just shows her that he's slowly healing from the scars that plagued his past. He'll never forget them, and they probably won't heal completely, but it's good that he's healing all the same.

Walking on, she completely ignored the fact that each crack represented a different scar, and how much it affects the user depends on how deep they reach. Knowing this, she completely ignored the fact that she could not see the end of the cracks, because she already knew, that the probability of those ever healing, were close to little to none. It was here, where her eyes frosted over.

Stopping for a moment, she looked down to stare at her murky reflection in the water underneath. Staring at her own image, she nodded. It was still filthy, but it was better than the pitch black color that invaded the bunker from before. The darker the water, the darker the thoughts after all…Naruto has been growing happier these past few weeks, so it's only natural that it would lighten. She once again ignored the fact, that deep in the water, was a bottomless pit where the floor would never be seen. For the deeper it went, the harder it would be to escape if he were ever caught up in its pull again. It was here, where her smile froze over.

So many things wrong with her little fishcake. So many things, where just a small push, can end it all. Looking around the area, her eyes flashed a deep amethyst for but a moment, before she continued her trek. Vanishing in a swirl of black, she reappeared at the end of the hallway right in front of a familiar chained door. The locks and links decreased in size, yet they grew exponentially in numbers. It looked sturdy, and it certainly felt like no one would be able to break into it either.

…pity the restraints were just for show. And with that thought in mind, she reached out towards the handle with the intention of prying it open. Just as the tip of her fingers touched the knob though, she stopped. For but a moment, grin turning absolutely demonic, the whites of her eyes began to sink into an inky black abyss before returning to normal.

* * *

_**(Sea of Memories)**_

* * *

Drifting lazily afloat, deep amethyst eyes blinked once, twice, and trice times when he felt something open. A frown tugging at his lips, he tapped his fingers against the panel in front of him causing it to dissolve in a ripple of foam. Turning himself around, he eyed the door several yards away slowly open inch by inch.

Eye's narrowing into slits; he simply waited in silence as the door completely opened. The black dot in the center of his amethyst eye's vanishing in a sea of purple when the familiar shade of white entered the threshold of his vision. Ah…wonder what she would be doing here?

"This place…it's a lot brighter than the rest of Naru-chan's mindscape!" Ashe noted, her curiosity peaked, eyed the hovering panels that drifted around freely in the air…? Well…judging by the bubble's, this place was most likely modeled after an empty ocean of water. _'Well…at least I can breathe unlike the last time.'_ Huffing inwardly in irritation at the reminder, she lingered on the panels for a moment before turning to the other presence in the…sea…?

Red meeting purple, Ashe simply raised a brow at the similarities. The teen floating far off looked just like her little fishcake with some minor differences. For one thing, his eyes were a deep amethyst that was too familiar for her liking. His hair was spikier with two bangs looking oddly like horns, and the white slits on each spike had been replaced with black and the red tips replaced by blue. Other than that, he was like an identical copy 'sides the fact that his skin was a tad paler than Naruto's.

Eye's ticking, said copy simply hummed in annoyance as the crazy woman continued studying him with a calculative gaze. Returning her gaze, he closed his eyes after a moment's silence. Opening them, he was unperturbed when Ashe appeared several meters in front of him rather than the yards from before. "You're a quite one," She said wryly. Seeing as he wasn't responding, she simply puffed her cheeks in mild annoyance. "Hm…let's see…" Humming in thought, her smile dropped into a small frown. "Since you're obviously not going to respond anytime soon, how 'bout I just waste time coming up with a name to call you!"

Staring at her unblinkingly, he simply drifted away in silence. Ignoring her pouting, he simply gazed at the open sea around him. The panels showing brief images here and there, his lips simply quirked into a small grin at the sight of a raven haired female before the scene vanished.

"I'll call you Menma!" Ashe exclaimed popping up right in front of him. Her response was a blank stare, but she simply ignored that and continued to ramble on. "I know that name is currently being used by a Naruto in an alternate timeline, but if I recall, he had dark black hair!" Stopping her parade for a moment, she picked at one of 'Menma's' with a grin. "Besides, you have black hair on your spikes instead of Naruto's usual white! And dark vengeful personality aside, the Menma of that timeline was such a sweet little boy before he turned all dark and murderous…and as for the cause of that…" Pouting, she huffed in annoyance at the thought. Though she never really met with the child personally, she couldn't help but find it annoying that so many burdens have to be put on each world's **Prophecy Child** or **Chosen One.** Sure it helps them grow stronger, but there are so many other ways to do it.

But no…those spiteful Fates always have to try and keep their so called balance. Before being sealed in this world's Naruto, you have no idea how many worlds or parallel timelines she saw fall to ruin because the Hero either turned evil due to finally cracking from their burdens or died from challenges that would normally kill people several times stronger than they currently were themselves! Rather, there were far more realities like that than the actual good ones, especially for the darker worlds out there!

Though some of the lighter worlds were…rather strange. That funny talking mouse she met a while back was…interesting in way, and when she saw the rodent with some sort of giant key a while later…yeah…she was going nowhere near that thing ever again. The darker worlds out there were much more twisted that she had thought! That one world filled with those crazed zealots and vampires really, **really** creeped her out. And that was just one of the many times where she nearly decided just blow the entire thing to hell! God's intervention or not!

Lips twitching into a brief smirk of amusement, 'Menma' as Ashe called him, watched as said woman paraded through a variety of expressions one after another. Drifting away from her, he thought about what Naruto had told him about her habit. About how she always goes off into her own little world once she start's talking, but he found it much more amusing that his counterpart would think. But, besides that, he thought about the name she had supposedly given him. "…Menma…" How ironic.

"Ah, you spoke!" Staring right into her blood red eyes, Menma simply kept a blank expression on his face as she stared right back. After a couple silent seconds, he felt a bit mischievous and did the one thing that Naruto would probably never do in his entire lifetime. Leaning forward, Menma pecked her right on her nose before shooting back in a stream of water and bubbles. His eye's recording the stunned expression on Ashe's face with extreme scrutiny, he chuckled. "So…what is it that you've come here for?" Menma drawled. Hearing nothing in response, he simply drifted around for a moment before turning his attention to the silent snow haired woman. Her finger's motioning towards the spot he kissed; he frowned when he noticed the melancholy expression in her eyes.

Thoughts flashing back to an individual long since passed, his eyes frosted over in glacial remembrance. "So…answer me." He started again with a hint of boredom in his tone. "What does Ashe, the famous **Phantasmal Queen**, want with little old me?"

Perking up at the sound of her old title, a wistful smile spread across her lips. "Really, looking through other people's memories is not a nice thing to do Menma-chan." She said in an admonishing tone. Seeing nothing but boredom in his eyes, she simply hummed in silence before starting up once again. "Besides, if you wanted to go by titles, you should have said so **Yami."** Eyes frosting over herself, she simply watched as the carefree atmosphere around them stilled. The surrounding bubbles popping, and the streams moving through the ocean vanishing, she simply watched in silence. Even when the surrounding panels cracked, and shattered into triangular glass like pieces before dissolving into bubbles and foam. "Ah…you don't like that name, do you Menma-chan?" She frowned with a tilt of her head.

Boredom dropping from his face, Menma simply stared at the woman in silence. Closing his eyes, he began to hum a soft silent tune before opening his eyes again. "Ah…is there any reason for you being here?" He asked again in an eerily calm manner. Sitting upright in the sea, he simply watched and waited for her answer.

A wry smile forming on her lips, Ashe stared right into Menma's pupiless amethyst over pitch black eyes. "Ah…Menma-chan, if you don't like that title, why don't I call you by your original!" She chirped cheerfully. "Isn't that right mister **S—"**Words halting mid-step, he expression sharpened darkly as she stared at the reddish black ethereal blade of energy trapped between her fingers. Its tip just millimeters away from slicing off her throat, she noted the black vein like cracks that twisted and turned around the blades surface. Attention drifting, she eyed the several other blades that were within sight, all pointing at vital spots to stab right through without a moment's hesitation.

"…Menma-chan," She called out calmly. **"Behave."** And with that word alone, she dispersed in small particles of light that shot right through the surrounding blades shattering them. Reappearing right in front of Menma, her grip on his right shoulder tightened just a tad as she smiled. "All I want to do is talk." She said. "Nothing more, nothing less…okay…?"

Staring at her right in the eye, he made no motion to move for a couple moments before his lips parted. "…Talk."

_**(With Naruto)**_

Stiffening momentarily, his eye's narrowed in confusion at the odd tingle he keeps feeling in the back of his head. Nibbling quietly on his pork ramen flavored pocky, he dismissed it after a couple moments. If it was Ashe doing something inane again, then he had nothing to worry about. She wouldn't do anything to hurt him…outside of training that is. "Ano…Naruto-san..." Snapping the pocky in half, he turned hearing his Usagi-chan's voice with a smile…even if she reverted back to calling him –san.

"Ah…something wrong…?" He asked curiously. As far as he was concerned, there should be no insects that would dare do anything less they meet their end with high chances of detachment.

Eye's flitting around nervously, Kokoro simply stared ahead at the shop in front of them. The sign **"Yamanaka Hana"** was plain in sight, yet she solely wished it was on the other side of the village…a couple dimensions away preferably. "Usagi-chan…?" Shaking her thoughts at Naruto's voice, she slowly started counting to three, and calmed down.

"Is this…one of the places…you wanted to bring me to?" Preferably, she hoped not. Staring at the rectangular pink sign with large bright red kanji, she recalled a platinum blonde haired classmate of hers in the Academy.

"Yep," Naruto chirped unknowingly turning her hopes into ash. "Just one of the three places I'm planning on bringing you to." Eye's drifting to either side of the door; he stared at the flowers lined up against the wall. "So~…let's just walk in and get what we need!" And with that, he motioned for her to walk into the shop with a comforting smile. She hesitated for a moment, but walked in anyway with Naruto following right behind.

Looking around nervously, Kokoro sighed inwardly in relief when she turned to the counter. It wasn't her, but an older male. He had long blonde haired ponytail that stretched all the way down his back, even though the hair on top of his head was spiky. He had a square facial structure with lightly tanned skin and pupiless blue green eyes. He was wearing a green apron over a long sleeved white dress shirt and dark green pants standing at a height of '5'09''.

Noticing the two's arrival, he tilted his head forward in welcome with a smile. "Hello, and welcome to **Yamanaka Hana**," He greeted kindly. "My name is Yamanaka Inoichi, how may I be of service today?" He asked staring at the two teens.

Tilting his head forward in response, Naruto replied with his a smile of his own. "Ah…do you have any Forget-Me-Not's?" Looking around, he stared at the wide variety of assorted flowers on display. "I'd also like some Lilacs, Pink Carnations, Lisianthus, and Pink and White Tulips." Turning back to Inoichi, his smile turned a bit wistful. "Do you have them?"

Taking note of the assortments of flowers he chose, his attention drifted a bit towards the girl next to him. It appears that she's confused about why he asked for them? So in a way, Inoichi could only ask what kind of person the infamous Namikaze Naruto lost was like. "Hai, would you like them separate, or in a bouquet?"

"I'd like them in the latter."

Nodding, he turned to the girl, his daughter's classmate in the Academy if he recalled. "Is there anything you'd like Tetsumi-san?" He asked shocking her.

"Eh…how do you...my name?" She asked with a frown.

Chuckling softly, Inoichi simply smiled in response. "My daughter was in the same class as yours. She'd use to tell me all about this girl in her class that had no apparent interest in the Last Uchiha. Her description of your likeness was spot on!" Though judging from what he's seeing right now, it looks pretty obvious that her attention has been caught by someone else.

Flustering at the thought of one of her classmates talking about her, she nodded. "Ah…ano…hai…?" She wasn't really sure if what Ino said about her was good or not.

Nodding, he turned back to Naruto. "I'll be back soon to gather the assorted flowers, is there anything else you'd like Uzumaki-san?"

Not at all perturbed that he knew his name, he thought about it for a moment and nodded. "I'd like some Pink Carnations, some Gardenia's, Hydrangea's, Iris's, a Stephanotis, Statice, and Sunflowers in a separate one." Eye's drifting towards Kokoro, his smile widened a bit.

Inoichi could only chuckle inwardly at the gesture. Ah…young love! "If that is all, please look at the selection we have while I go and prepare you're orders." And with that, he left leaving the two alone in the shop.

Nodding, Naruto looked around the shop in thought. Unknown to him, Kokoro was staring at him with a curious gaze. "Ano…Naruto-san, what do you plan on using the flowers for?"

Eye's drifting towards his rabbit; he gave her a ghost of a smile. "Nothing much," He said warmly. "You can say that I'm planning on giving them to someone."

"…Who…?" She asked after a moment's silence. "And why'd you…asked for…two? Couldn't you…have put them all…together?" Or is he planning on giving them to two different girls. _'Is he thinking about another girl…even after he proclaimed this outing as a date himself?'_ She didn't like it. Her thoughts must have shown, because Naruto immediately began to softly pet her head making her flush slightly.

"Do worry Usagi-chan," Naruto hummed bemusedly. "The first one is nothing more than a reminder…and besides," Leaning in closer; he looked at her straight in the eye with nothing but warmth in his eyes. "Right now, all I'm thinking about is how happy you're going to be at the end of this date!" He may have sounded a bit over-confidant, but the way her cheeks flushed a bright pink, the way her eyes drifted away from his own as if pretending to catch interest in something else…that simply made his day. "Besides, I never said who I'd be giving the second bouquet to, my dear little rabbit!" He said barely above a whisper. If only she'd face him now, that would make the day even better.

"Ah!" And apparently it wilted before it ever got a chance to bloom. "Tetsumi-san, I haven't seen you since the Academy!" Humming in mild annoyance as Kokoro pulled away once she realized their position, he turned to the origin of the voice with a small smile playing on his lips.

Yamanaka Ino, daughter of Yamanaka Inoichi and current heir to the Yamanaka Clan. Ino was a fair skinned girl standing at a height of '5'00'' with the same blue-green eyes as her father. She has long blonde hair placed in a high ponytail that stretched down to her waist with bangs covering the right side of her face. She's currently wearing silver hoop earring's and a short purple vest like blouse with a raised collar, a purple apron skirt with its sides split and bandages wrapped around her stomach and thighs. Her headbands was currently being used like a belt, and judging by the time it was, she was probably heading off to meet the rest of her team at Training Area Eleven.

Theoretically he should be wary of her due to her clans Mind Raping capabilities, but personally…personally he couldn't give a damn. Anyone who deems to go against him will be eliminated. Anyone who harms what he claims as his will be eliminated. Anyone who tries to steal what is his will be eliminated. That is all there is to it, and that is all it'll ever be. _'Though I'll have to come up with a new motto since I lost to Torazuki a while back…'_ That was something he'd need to correct, so for the time being, he'll simply be satisfied with dismembering his enemies with extreme prejudice contrary to outright erasure.

And while he was deep in thought about the threat level of the Yamanaka's, Kokoro was currently being bombarded questions courtesy of Ino. "So Tetsumi-san, how have you been since you failed the graduation exam? Are you going to try for a re-take next year? Have you seen Sasuke-kun by any chance? You haven't been meeting him secretly have you? Who is the boy next to you? Is he the reason why you had no interest in Sasuke-kun?" She asked taking a quick look at Naruto. "He look's kind of weird with that hair of his, but he's kind of cute in the roguish sort of way. Where is he from? I haven't seen him in the Academy, so does that make him a Civilian? What's his name? How did you meet him? Are you on a date right now?" She would have continued her onslaught of questions, but when she started to notice how Kokoro's face lit up as the questions slowly changed from about her to the strange boy, she couldn't help but find it cute. Whether the poor girl knew it or not, she heard the entire exchange between them right after her father had left for whatever it was they ordered.

Flush slowly dying down, Kokoro slowly began to remember why she was so hesitant about coming in here for. "…Ano…nice to see you again…Ino-san…" Kokoro mumbled tilting her head forward. "I've been fine…I haven't seen Uchiha-san…ever since then…and…and…" Attempting to recall the barrage of questions Ino threw at her, she couldn't help but fumble around as she started mixing up the words. Hearing a brief giggle, a light dust of pink colored her cheeks.

This was exactly the reason why she didn't look forward to coming here. Not that she hated Ino or anything, but, she was confidant and so talkative for most of their time during the Academy. She was nice, but also a bit overbearing to, and being the quite person she was…it made her a bit uncomfortable. And considering that she was the only girl who didn't have a crush on Uchiha-san…you can say she was the prime person for her to talk to when it came to certain things.

"Ino-san…how have you…been doing this past month?" But despite all that, she doesn't dislike her. She's just…tiresome at times.

Abruptly stopping her giggles, Ino blinked once before turning to stare at Kokoro with a steady gaze. "Tetsumi-san…" She started with a growing smile. "You've changed." Earning a blank stare in response, she laughed. "Like that, see! Before, you would be fumbling around for what to say in the Academy. You would get all nervous when someone talked to you." Smile widening, a mischievous gleam entered her eyes as they drifted towards the amused blonde next to them. "And here you are entering my shop side by side with…sorry, but who are you?" She asked bluntly changing the subject.

Raising a brow in silent amusement, he chuckled. "You're a candid one, aren't you?" Ignoring the twitch of her brow, he laughed. "But none the less, I'm happy to meet an acquaintance of my dear Usagi-chan from her dark days in the Academy!" He exclaimed in sorrowful exasperation.

"Huh…Usagi-chan…dark days…?" Trailing off, Ino turned to Kokoro in confusion. Only for her to be further surprise at the fact that her eyes were slowly ticking in mild annoyance, "What is he—"She was interrupted mid-way into her sentence when the weird blonde suddenly clapping his hands together in a prayer like motion.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto, and I am foremost on a date with my criminally adorable Usagi-chan!" He proclaimed introducing himself. "And while I would introduce myself further, I'd rather find out any available information you have on how Usagi-chan was during her days in the Academy!" Stopping for a moment to check if he got her attention, he nodded when she continued to stare in a slight dumbfounded gaze. Good, she was still listening! "And I'd appreciate it if you'd also give me the names and addresses of any lowly insects slash soon to be tomb stones that bullied her during said days!"

Staring for a moment's silence, Ino turned towards Kokoro with odd expression on her face. "Tetsumi-san…you're boyfriends weird."

"Oh, how good of you to notice," Naruto chirped innocently. "While I was personally going for psychotically insane, weird has a nice ring to it!" He would have continued his glorious tirade, but his mouth slammed shut when he felt a familiar tingle of numbness spread through his side. Eye's drifting down, his confidant smile shook when his beloved Usagi-chan's eye's gleamed in the darkness of her bangs. Her smile sharpening like a finely tuned blade that looked as if it was ready to sever important**—Most likely private to—**if he didn't shut if in the next microsecond.

**"It's always the quite ones."** Kurama chuckled deeply.

Chuckling nervously, Naruto puffed out his cheeks childishly when she nodded with a soft smile. _'Someone out there is corrupting my adorable rabbit and turning her into a frighteningly sexy rabbit!'_ He cried inwardly. _'The perpetrators must be punished with immediate elimination! It's my job, and __**only**__ my job to corrupt Kokoro!'_ And anyone who dares to question his claim shall be met with the sharp end of his sword! Now…where can he find a sword?

Reviewing his container's thoughts, the fox simply grunted. The boy really was fucked up in the head. That or he's a Grade-A M like his father considering he married that red headed devil. **"Then again, with how he loves to tease the rabbit, he might be an S as well. Not the hard core type, but more like the soft teasing type."** Kurama mumbled with a huff.

Watching briefly as Naruto started going through his inner ranting again, she smiled softly in exasperation before turning back to Ino. "I'm sorry about…Naruto-san, but…just to clear up any misunderstandings…he's not my boyfriend…"

"Eh~" Naruto pouted with a slight whine. "But, I am you're friend, and I'm also a boy! You want pro—"He was quickly silenced by the jolt of electricity that shot through his nerves. Feeling numb for a couple moments, he simply hummed in reluctant amusement. _'Ah~…Kokoro-chan in what they would call, a Tsundere, am I right?'_ He asked himself smiling.

"Uzumaki-san, I have you're orders." Looking over to the counter, Naruto nodded softly as Inoichi walked out with two colorful bouquets. "Ah, Ino, you're still here?" He asked turning to his daughter. "Aren't you late for meeting you're team?"

"I'm going; I was just catching up with Tetsumi-san for a bit." Ino replied. Turning back to Kokoro, she noted the arrangement of flowers for the first bouquet, and frowned. _'…wonder who died?'_ Shrugging after a moment's thought; she shook the thoughts away. It was obvious that the first was going to a grave of some sort with the types of flowers arranged, but the second bouquet…"Anyway, it was nice to meet you again Tetsumi-san, but I have to go now!" And with that, she ran out the store to who knows where.

Watching her go, Kokoro simply stood still. "Are you going to re-take next year?" That was the question Ino had asked her, and honestly…she didn't really know. But, to reach her goal, she'd need to get stronger. And becoming a Kunoichi is the fastest way…right? Feeling a hand land on her shoulders, she turned around a met Naruto in the eye.

The flowers firmly in his grip, he nodded. "C'mon, there are only two more places!" Kokoro, with nothing much to say, simply followed behind.

Watching the two leave, Inoichi's smile dropped to a deep frown. Furrowing his brows in conflict, he thought about the reports he's read about the boy, and the child he met just a couple minutes ago. "I'm going to need to talk to Shikaku about that boy." He mumbled wearily. Naruto…how young was he when he first drew blood?

* * *

_**(Several Hours Later)**_

* * *

It was a beautiful forest! The air was damp and musky! The trees were reaching dozens of yards into the sky and were as thick as he was insane! The plants were man-eaters! The Bugs were dinosaur sized! The animals were mutants, and the rivers seeping with creatures just waiting to drag you down into their watery depths! And maybe it was just him, but for a moment there, he thought he saw the bones of the forests victims moving along the shrubs and undergrowth of the surrounding area's fauna! Truly, this is what those above call Heaven's Garden!

_'Yeah right,'_ Twigs snapping beneath his feet, Naruto's head craned around with a tired smile on his face. "Are you feeling alright Usagi-chan?" In hindsight, taking a physically weak girl into a forest of death literally named the **Shi no Mori** aka the **Forest of Death** was not the brightest of ideas. And when said girl collapses around seven miles into the forest…yeah…defiantly not a good idea.

Chin buried into the nook of the blonde's neck, Kokoro simply giggled in response. A light flush dusting across her cheeks as sweat dripped down her chin. "Ne~…Naruto~…it's so hot here…" Eye's glazed a tad; she tightened her hold around Naruto's shoulders. "I don't like it when it's hot…it's…too hot…the cold is much better…" She mumbled wearily, her warm breath trickling along his ears.

Humming nervously, Naruto inwardly shook his head at his current predicament. Who would have guess that such a sweet bunny like Kokoro would act so…strange in the heat? Feeling her warm breathe tingling against his cold skin…her soft, warmth filled arms wrapping around his shoulders…red dusting his cheeks, he coughed nervously as he quickened his pace.

"Naruto-kun…you feel so~ cold…" Kokoro giggled happily, her fingers tracing softly against his whisker marks. "It's nice…you feel nice…"

Unconsciously purring at her gentle touch, he nearly melted against her hands when the sound of snapping twigs caught his attention. Slowly coming to a stop, he shifted his weight and moved her hands away from his cheeks eliciting a short whine. _'Not to self…heat is like catnip to females…!'_ He screamed inwardly, his face exploding in deep scarlet. He was the one who was supposed to be doing the teasing! Not the other way around! It doesn't work like that!

Hearing another twig snapping added to the rustling of leaves, his blush died down to a small flush. Okay, piggybacking might not be a good idea right now, but that begs the question. _'How do I switch to bridal style from this position?'_ Feeling her arms tighten around him, he guessed that he probably couldn't.

After a couple moments of silence, nothing happened, and he hummed in mild bemusement as Kokoro tugged at the collar of his vest. Lips twitching, he looked on ahead and smiled. It was close…a couple yards at least, but considering the fifteen mile trek he had to walk, it had better be or he's razing this forest down whether Hebi-Onna liked it or not.

...but before that, his grin widened a smidgen when the air around him began to drop in temperature. The soft breezes of nice cold wind trailing against his clothing and skin, he hummed silently in amusement when the sound of contented mumbling escaped from his Usagi-chan's lips. Lips that would look oh so captive…at…ing…

Biting his fore lip hard enough to draw blood, he moved on forward thinking that switching to bridal style would not be a good idea. It just wouldn't do for his all-time adorable rabbit to find out yet another one of his weaknesses! So without further ado, he picked up his pace through the forest flushed with sweat dripping down his cheeks despite the cold veil of air cooling both him and his Koko—Usagi-chan down.

After a couple minutes passed, he walked right into an empty clearing. Sighing in relief, he stared at the spot in front of him as if it was his sanctuary. After all, he did get through here without having to meet the Hebi-Onna. "Ramen-gaki, you're not going to leave without saying hi at least, right?" Eye's twitching, Naruto simply hummed in exasperated annoyance. _'Fuck you…just…just fuck you Murphy…'_

* * *

_**(Shi no Mori—Underground Bunker)**_

* * *

The Underground Bunker is basically a hideout constructed within the depths of the **Shi no Mori's** underground. Divided into four levels with the next going deeper than the last, it was constructed for who knows what purpose from a man only one person suspects and the other not having the slightest doubt.

The first level in itself is basically a maze filled with several chambers and rooms spread out throughout the entirety of the **Shi no Mori**. Besides the fact that it was currently made up of steel, there were dozens of unknown seal's spread and hidden throughout the nooks and crannies of the base. Most of which that have probably not yet been discovered. But from those that have been found looked to have the main purpose of drawing in the chakra that saturated the atmosphere around the **Shi** **no Mori** and converting it into the five elemental choices of Lightning, Fire, Earth, Water, and Wind.

The Lightning chakra would charge and power the base to keep it running. The Water chakra will be used to strengthen the grow of medical herbs and plants while the Wind chakra will keep the chambers and rooms at varying temperature's depending on how the user sets it. What the Fire Chakra is being used for is currently unknown, but is suspected to being used in one of the lower levels. The Earth Chakra is being in conjunction with some sort of space time seals to remain undetected by intruders. And anyone trying to get to it via Jutsu without going through the primary entrance would only find nothing or pass through it in cases of people using Jutsu like **Doton: Moguregakure no Justu.**

And as for the lower levels Ni, San, and Yon; he has no clue whatsoever. Cerulean blue orbs drifting towards the floor, he hummed in mild annoyance as he tapped the floor with the balls of his feet. The Lower Levels are currently inaccessible due to the fact that he has found no traces of their being a door or staircases anywhere. If so, the only conclusion would be that the levels are not connected to each other and are like individual buildings themselves.

...Though considering that this place runs on Fuinjutsu, Fuinjutsu might be the connection between the separate levels. Not that he can actually use such a thing, even with him being of Uzumaki descent. Eye's drifting to the crystal spiral present on his shirt, a ghost of a smile played on his lips. _'I wonder…do I even have the right to don this spiral on my chest?'_ As an Uzumaki who can't even make the simplistic of Fuinjutsu…does he even bear the right to don their name, whether their blood flows through his veins or not?

Sighing, he tilted his head to the side as a Dango stick shot right past his ears clattered against the steel wall behind him. "What do you want Hebi-Onna?" He asked turning to her flatly. The woman's snake like smile giving hints of warning, but he didn't really care much before, and he wouldn't now.

The woman he was currently resting in was fifteen by twenty meter rectangular room with the ceiling itself being around ten meters from the floor. He was currently sitting on the side of a mattress that was pressed against the corner of the south east point of the room. Besides that, there were some wooden bookshelves pressed against the right and left side of the room with large books placed on their shelves. The only door into this room would be the one in the center of the forefront of the room in which a dangerously psychotic woman stood leaning against the room's entrance with an annoying smirk present on her lips.

"What, can't I just say hello to my favorite little blonde gaki!?" She asked with a pout. "Really, I'm hurt. Right here," She continued placing her heart over her chest. "I thought we had a connection!"

Eye's twitching; Naruto simply hummed a soft silent tune to calm himself. "Ambushing and treating me like a toddler is not what I would call a connection Hebi-Onna." He still had nightmares about the time she forced him into a maid's outfit.

As if reading his thoughts, she snickered. "My names Anko gaki, Mitarashi Anko," She admonished with a smirk. "And you, my blonde brat, are a stiff!"

"Oi, I'm not a stiff—ttebayo!" What blasphemy! Calling a causer of chaos and mayhem like him a stiff! It's inconceivable! And the only one bold enough to call him that would only be the accursed woman called Mitarashi Anko!

Anko is a fair skinned woman who stands at a height of '5'05'' with pupiless light brown eyes and violet hair styled in a short, spiky, fanned-ponytail. She is a woman who is commonly known and is currently wearing a tan overcoat with a purple in-seam, which has a pocket on both sides. Under that, she's wearing a fitted body mesh suit that stretches down from her neck to her thighs and a dark orange mini-skirt. Besides that, she sports a fanged shaped pendant on a thick black cord around her neck, a wrist watch, and pale grey shin guards with a dark blue belt located around her waist that connects to her skirt that has an appendage like sash. Her Konohagakure headband glinted in the light under her violet bangs.

Raising an amused brow, Anko simply laughed. "I'll believe it when I see it brat! Besides…" Eye's drifting beyond the teen, her eyes widened. "Who's she? You're girlfriend?"

Turning around briefly, he stared at the sleeping rabbit behind him with a grin. Ignoring the implications, Naruto shrugged. "Nope," He replied popping the p. "But we **were** just on a romantic date before you had to pop in—"Seeing the look that said 'bullshit', he puffed his cheeks in annoyance. "Fine, but we **were** in the middle of our date!"

Staring blankly, she shrugged. "Eh, you're life." Pulling out a plate of Dango from who knows where, she grinned. "But I gotta say, maybe I should be thinking of taking that girl up for apprenticeship." She thought out loudly, devious idea's forming in the black void she called a mind. "You just insulted me didn't you gaki!?" Damn!

"And why exactly would I let you bring her into the dangerous world of Shinobi?" He asked ignoring her accusation.

"You brought her into a forest with the word death in its name." Anko replied as if the argument was just ended. "Besides, if she could make you, the one person in the village I can't turn into babbling mess with just my holy presence"—**More like Demonic—**"—I heard that Gaki!—" How does she do that!? "Because I'm the stunningly sexy Mitarashi Anko that's why; now where was I? Oh yeah; alone, into a normal hormonal driven teenager, then I say she's got the talent!" Taking another bite of her precious Dango, she hummed in content as its flavor melted along her tongue. "What do you think?" That it's the most ironically suicidal idea to ever be conceived the crazed woman known as Mitarashi—"Quite it with the inner monologue's gaki before I fillet you!" Damn she's good! "I know." Anko chirped happily cleaning another skewer from its Dango.

Blinking in mild surprise at her ability to guess his thoughts, Naruto thought about how his bunny would change under Hebi-Onna's tutelage. An older version of Kokoro in an outfit similar to Anko's popped up, a sadistically sexy leer present on her lips. Turning a bit red at the thought, he shook his head and changed it up from an Anko like personality to a more confidant and less shy Kokoro. She was gazing at him again with those kind, warmth filled honey brown eyes and her beautiful smile allowing her lips to look all the more inviting. A small flush of red dusting her cheeks with her previously shoulder length silky brown hair trailing down her slender back. Brief memories Kokoro's actions in the forest melded together with her older version…and his brain promptly shut down as steam erupted from his darkening red ears.

Staring at the short-circuiting brat, Anko simply bit her lips to prevent the laughter from escaping. No need to stop her list of blackmail from growing after all! And she was **so** going to enjoy this on footage later! But…turning her gaze onto the resting girl behind Naruto, she frowned. The girl's condition in the forest wasn't normal in the least. Sure it's filled with poisonous floral, but they all give their victims agonizingly painful deaths. Her snakes that she sent scouting over the forest whispered something about Ancients and Frozen Sin before flickering away. Maybe she should look up some records—

"I'd appreciate it if you'd leave her alone." Naruto said interrupting her train of thought. "One of the reasons why I brought her here was for the surrounding area to recognize her as mine." His pets need to know that she's off limits.

Staring at him, she simply pouted at having her fun ruined before it began. "Hai, Hai, but before you say you're other reason's, I'll ask this bluntly." Staring at him right in the eye, her eyes hardened.

"And what exactly would that be Hebi-Onna?" Seeing the look in her eyes, he could only wonder as he hardly ever see's Anko this serious.

"How far have you gone with her?" She asked grin splitting her face. "Hand holding, hugs, kisses…or have you skipped it all and went straight to the bedroom? C'mon, give me the details so I can blackmail you later about it!" She exclaimed excitedly completely disregarding the fact that she just revealed her true intentions.

Eye's twitching, Naruto hummed in exasperation. Anko will be Anko after all. "Give me the details or I'll share some stories with your little **Usagi-chan."**

"…you're cruel…you know that, right."

"Gaki…this Interrogation has a long way before it even begins."

* * *

_**(Several Hours Later)**_

* * *

Staring over the cliff-side, Kokoro could only recount the strange day she had as she stared into the sunset. She was led around the village making small talk with Naruto. She nervously ignored the whispers that were directed at Naruto by the surrounding villagers, and Naruto acted as if they weren't even worthy of his notice, only reacting when someone turned their glares on her. First part of the…date…felt uncomfortable, but Naruto was trying to make her feel comfortable…so it was nice in a sense. He's fun to talk to.

After that, he brought her to **Yamanaka Hana**; a flower shop ran by Yamanaka Inoichi, the father of Ino, one of her talkative classmates during her time in the Academy. The flowers there were pretty, but she was more focused on why Inoichi-san was surprised about Naruto's choice of flowers. _'I thought they looked nice.'_ She even caught Ino looking at them for a brief moment before leaving. Naruto bought two bouquets. He wouldn't say who the first one was a reminder…but what did he mean by that? The second one seemed to have vanished along with the first when she wasn't looking. Maybe she could understand the reason the Yamanaka's were surprised if she understood the Language of The Flowers that Ino talked about a while back? So, the second part of the date…felt nostalgic.

She couldn't recall much about what happened after that, but she remembered bits and pieces about walking through a heavily dense forest. She had asked Naruto about what happened, but he immediately clammed up leaving her with the answer that he forced her to rest since she was so exhausted. She missed the red hue his face took because he turned around. So, the third part…felt odd and embarrassing for some reason.

And now, here she was staring at the sunset on the Hokage Monument right above the Yondaime's head. Gazing at the orange sky for a couple more moments, she flushed when her stomach growled. Turning around, her lips twitched when she saw Naruto lying right bedside's a woven picnic basket. Where he got it from, he wouldn't say, but she just chalked it up to him trying to act mysterious when he could have brought it when she was sleeping. It was a bit cute if anything else.

Getting back to her feet, she winced inwardly at the sudden stinging from her sore muscles. Rest or no rest, walking several miles in a forest as large and dense as that one would be exhausting…or so Naruto told her she did.

Watching as Kokoro walked over here, he smiled. While one wouldn't call this a normal date…or one at all for that matter, he was at least happy that she was feeling comfortable. Though inwardly, he had to lock his doting instincts away as he continues to watch her slowly walk over with each step. He had asked**—Stolen—**his Usagi-chan's records from the Academy to see what he was going to need to work on, but from what he saw, she completely failed the physical portion that is needed to be a Shinobi.

The reasons weren't stated in the documents, but her body was physically weak. In short, she's the exact opposite of Lee. While Lee's Chakra Coils are severely underdeveloped, thus leading him incapable of using justu of any kind. Kokoro's seemed to have had her's unlocked even before she entered the Academy, and considering her weak body, the energy is too strong for her body to actually handle during long periods of time. He can hypothesize a couple guesses as to why, but that's what they are at the moment, only guesses. And if one of them proved to be the problem…than it would be something impossible for even the **Slug Sannin** to fix. So really, he really had to just suck it up and not walk over their like a doting father would for their precious baby girl!

…okay, the context was weird, but you get the point. Humming softly as she sat down on the left side of the basket, he opened the lid and pulled out some sandwiches for them to eat. Passing her one, he grinned when Kokoro took it. "Ah…how did you like the day so far?"

Nibbling on the sandwich, she frowned. "It was…strange, I can tell you that," She said. "But…it was interesting all the same."

Humming in mild agreement, he took a large bite out of his sandwich and nodded before swallowing. Now…what the hell does he do now? Walking on and about the village was good and all for short conversation, but now he needs to actually start one until the dates over. Following conversations, yeah, starting them…not so much. Even for a date as strange as this one, it's mandatory that the male takes the lead…right?

"Ano…Naruto-san…can I ask you something?" Kokoro asked.

Well, now he's feeling less like a male. "Ah…Usagi-chan, we're friends, so you don't need to keep asking permission just to ask a question, kay? You only do that when you want annoy the hell out of someone, for courtesy's sake, or you just want to ask the right questions to slowly start the disintegration process that are their minds before you turn them into sniveling puddles of mental goo on the ground."

_ '…That last one seemed oddly specific.'_ Shaking those thoughts away, she giggled before reaching over and tugging at Naruto's orange vest. For some odd reason he blushed, but she simply put it to being a bit tired. "I've always…seen you wear orange…so much." She noted curiously. "Do you like…it that much?"

"Yes I do, orange is awesome and should be the worldwide color of all the nations…is what I'd have said when I was younger." Smile softening, he turned forward to stare at the setting sun. "If circumstances were different, I would have said that I liked it because it's what you get when you cross my mother's red hair, and my father's blonde together to make orange." He noted that he called them father and mother, but he made no motion to correct it for some reason. "…I think I like the color orange because it reminds me of the sky."

"The sky…?" Kokoro asked.

One eye drifting towards Usagi-chan, he nodded. "When the sun rises, the sky turns orange, and when it sets, it's orange." He started softly. "I think I like it because it represents the beginning and the end of the day…of something, before it returns to anew." Turning to see Kokoro in thought, he lied down back first on the ground. "What color do you like?" He asked her.

"…white…." She said after a moment.

"You mind telling me the reason why Usagi-chan?" Naruto asked softly. After hearing nothing for a couple moments, he turned to stare at the cloud filled orange sky above. "I like it because…" He heard her whisper.

"I like it…because even if it looks…empty…even if it looks lonely…you can always just…fill it right back up." Raising a brow at that, he waited for more info, but saw that that was all she was going to say. It confused him a bit, but he decided to wait until she tells him more about herself. Seeing her smile was enough for him.

As time went by, talking with each other grew easier and easier. Laughs were shared, food was eaten, and the atmosphere was one of utter tranquility as both of them felt something they haven't felt in a long time. They felt free…

* * *

_**(Nighttime—Kokoro's Home)**_

* * *

Stopping right besides of her door, Naruto took her hand. But instead of flushing like she usually would, she simply smiled in response. "I told you you'd be happy at the end of the day." He chuckled.

Lips twitching in amusement, she opened her door before turning around to face him. "Thank you for today…" She said staring right into his eyes. "…It was fun…and it helped me calm down…and think." That was what this entire day was all about, wasn't it Naruto?

"And, what did you find out?" He asked with a teasing grin. "That I'm just so irresistibly good boyfriend material?" He asked boastingly.

"…Maybe…" She whispered freezing him on the spot. But before he could fully comprehend what she just said, Kokoro leaned forward and did something he'd never expect from her. She kissed him…granted it was on the cheek, but she kissed him! "Again…thank you for today." She finished with pink dusting her cheeks. And with that, she walked right into her house and closed the door with a click.

Walking into her living room, Kokoro's walked into her living room with her face lighting up at what she had just done. She had kissed him on the cheek! Was that too much!? Was it too little? This is her first time actually being on a date, so she wouldn't know. Thinking on it for a moment, she sighed wearily before turning to look at her photos. And right now, she could only stare at the vase of flowers that stood right behind it.

Outside the door, Naruto could only rub the cheek that she kissed with a blank expression on his face. A frown marring his lips, he simply disappeared in a swirl of wind with a small dust of red decorating his whiskered cheeks. Reappearing right in front of his door, he twitched at the sound of a meow, and turned to see Tora standing right beside his windowsill with a pile of bloody masks right next to her. Staring at the insignia for ROOT, he simply hummed in annoyance before walking into his apartment with a smile on his face.

* * *

_**Ah...I apologize if it was a bit sub-par to my usual...writing...and I hope you liked it. Please...review you're thoughts.**_


	18. Chapter 17

_**Ah...I not own Naruto...but the plot and original characters are mine.**_

_**Chapter 17**_

* * *

_**A/N: Ah...sorry about being a tad late...but with the start of my college year...updates might be a bit slow for a while...**_

_**thor94: As for you're question about Menma...well in a sense of thought...I guess you could call him Naruto's darkness...and as you probably noticed...he's a bit different from what you saw in the anime or manga...well...the use of Mana can cause strange things to change about a person. As for what Ashe...is planning to do with him...nothing really, just hoping for a compromise at best. And yes, Naruto does know that...he's there and has talked with him on...several occasions. The link they use...however, cannot be heard by his other tenants...for reason's unknown to him.**_

* * *

_Staring blankly at the lake ahead, dim cerulean blue eyes simply stood there in silence. His arms limp by his sides, his legs motionless and still, all he did was stare into the lake ahead. Stare, into the empty, crystal clear lake. Barely noticing the sound of chirping crickets, his eyes drifted towards his red stained clothing._

_Eye's dimming further; he parted open his lips, but no sound came out. No matter how many times he tried, no matter how much he wanted, not a single peep could be heard. Closing them after a couple moments of silence, he looked up towards the night sky, he found himself searching for the bright white orb in the world above. In the end, all he could see was the star filled sky on this moonless night._

_The moment the monster walks away…is the moment the kids come out to play. That was what it seemed to him. As the stars were but specks in the sky, with the moon being the light that shines down in this world away from the sun. For every time the moon comes out to play…is the time the stars run away._

…_did that mean he was a monster too? Lips twitching, he turned, and walked away into the forest of trees. That question constantly plaguing his thoughts, he simply stared blankly into the area around. The forest…it seemed empty now. So…empty…so…lonely…_

* * *

_**(Flashback End)**_

* * *

Eye's twitching wearily; blue eye's blinked away the tears as a low yawn escaped between his lips. Rubbing his eyes, Naruto simply gazed around the forest with mild interest before turning to the night sky above. The full moon was now but a waning crescent, but he stared at it all the same. Watching the moon relaxes him for some reason.

"…So…" Eye's twitching in irritation; he stretched out his joints sighing pleasantly at the sound of several pops and cracks. "…Any reason why you woke me up in the middle of the night, just hours after my date with Usagi-chan Ashe, especially while I'm still in my pajama's?" Not that he cared really; the dream this time was a bit…unpleasant…

_"Ah…didn't I tell you that I'd be done in two days?"_ Ashe's voice popped out all of a sudden…though the sudden eerie feeling he was getting seemed to jolt him awake. Eerie feeling + Ashe = Bad…very, very bad…as in bad enough that he should curse the fact he didn't prepare a will beforehand. _"Please don't start with that rhyming jig again, I have a headache and I'd rather not spend the next hour tortu—instructing you into what we're doing tonight."_ She bit back in annoyance. _"But for that to happen, I'm going to need control of your body."_ Unknown to her, a certain fox blinked away the agitation in his eyes the moment he heard those words. A sly fanged grin creeping up on his lips as he wondered if this was really happening.

Blinking himself, Naruto could only twitch as a single intellectual word came to mind. "…Eh…"

Rubbing her temple, she yawned wearily as she too blinked away her tears the same way Naruto had done just moments before. Yawning once more, she ran through what she actually told him, and sighed. _"Ah…well I did tell you that, but what I didn't tell you is what we're actually going to do."_ She muttered. _"…I don't feel like explaining it much, so I'll just skip to the point…after you give me permission to take your body for a while."_

"…Eh…" was his intelligent reply, though a tad more meekly than before. His face flushing a bright crimson as Kurama had to tie his muzzle together with his tails just to not burst out in gut-aching fits of laughter. "B-b-b-b-b-but…isn't t-t-t-this t-t-t-to soon!?" He stuttered much like a familiar Hyuuga. Was Ashe really talking about doing that!?

Raising a brow, she giggled in soft amusement at how nervous her little fishcake looked. Wonder why he was blushing though? _"Ah…nonsense; of course it's not too soon! I would have preferred it to be in the day time, but you made your little play-date with your adorable Usagi-chan at that time, so I had to reschedule it to midnight!"_ She found the fact that Naruto's face erupted into a new shade of red adorable, but kept her laughter inside. Good at teasing, yet absolutely horrible at being teased. A bit cliche, but it's cute none the less.

_'B-b-b-but, why do you need my b-b-b-body to do what you're going to do?'_ He stuttered inwardly.

_"Eh~, but, I think it's better to let someone more experienced take charge in this kind of thing!"_ Puffing out her cheeks childishly, she pouted. _"Don't worry so much! I'll be careful as to not mess your body up!"_ After all, she wouldn't want him to try and move his left arm only to move his right leg. _"I'll be rea~lly gentle my little fishcake!"_

Eye's widening at those words at those words, he opened his mouth in an attempt to speak, but not a single sound passed. Closing it, he opened and closed it time and time and again, but still, not a single peep was made. After a couple seconds, he simply decided to keep as still as a statue, a crimson one, but a statue none the less.

Blinking in confusion at Naruto's silence, Ashe wondered what was going on. Why was her fishcake acting so funny? Come to think of it, why hadn't she heard from her pet yet? She expected him to still be grumbling about the whole process, yet she hadn't even heard a peep from the gargantuan fool. Turning to the cage, her brows silently ticked.

Kurama, the strongest of the nine Bijuu, a being capable of causing tsunami's and crushing mountains with but a swing of its tails, was wheezing helplessly on the floor. His eye's puffy and red, with his claws digging right into the ground beneath him, and his tails lying limply on the flat cold floor behind him. Small, choked guffaws escaping through his maws, her brows ticked once more. "…I don't know why, but for some reason that look of yours is pissing me off." She muttered lowly before sighing. "So…what are you laughing at my pelt?"

Gasping for air, Kurama wheezed out a couple more high pitched chuckles before turning to face Ashe. Staring blankly for a couple seconds, he erupted in another fit of roaring laughter as he slammed his fists against the ground besides him.

Staring blankly in return, a vein on her forehead popped, and everything turned dark. All was silent as the moments passed. The sounds of dripping water ceased. The wheezing laughter of the mighty Bijuu and the gentle breathing of the snow haired woman…vanished. Nothing happened, and all was silent…for the moment. And when that moment passed…the screams of horror began.

Still as a statue, but as pale as a ghost, Naruto shook as the reverberated screamed echoed and pierced through his thoughts. The clanging of steel…the scraping of concrete…the soft demonic melody slowly going off in the forefront of his mind…it's gentle tune sounding oh so beautiful…yet oh so terrifying at the same time.

Ear's twitching, he nearly jumped into the air as something soft, yet cold, trailed against his skin. Head robotically turning around, eye's wide with fright and cold sweat streaming down his whiskered cheeks, he visibly relaxed as a cool gentle breeze ran against his face. "Ah…so it was just the wind…" But…was it just him, or did the music sound just a bit…well, louder?

And indeed it has. Before, he could only hear it echo within the confines of his mind. But now…now if felt as if someone was singing right beside him. The notes, the pitch, the rhythm, the echo…the melody, everything could be heard. Feeling the cold wind pressing against his skin, listening to the blades of grass whistle, the leaves rustle…everything…everything felt…familiar for some reason.

Listening to the song whisper within the forest, watching as the wind played along with its tune, his lips twitched as it slowly began to come to him. This song…the reason it was so familiar…was because it was a Lullaby. Albeit a spine-freezing haunted Lullaby that could scare actual ghosts to death, it was a Lullaby to him none the less. How does he know?

…Because his Cecilia-nee sang him the same thing whenever he was scared, and tired. Cecilia-nee's Lullaby though, was not as low and haunting as this Lullaby, but a peaceful song that soothed his senses. A song that calmed him, even when he was shaking and injured…that was the type of song it was. And if this song was the type to warn and scare people away, then her's was meant to soothe and protect…at least, that's what he felt it was. _'But…I wonder how Ashe knew how to sing the Lullaby…?'_ And this tempo…it felt familiar somehow…like he's heard it before, only in a different form.

Feeling something wet drip down his cheek; he slowly raised his hand with a small frown. His finger's tracing the trail of water that a single tear left along his right cheek. Staying completely still for a couple seconds, he wiped it away without a second thought, and started humming along to the tune. It was still scary, but…it also felt a bit comforting for some reason. After a couple more minutes passed, the haunting music slowly came to a stop, his lips nearly pouting in mild disappointment before a familiar voice spoke out.

_"Sorry I've been gone for a while Naru-chan, but I needed to double-check the ritual for the Spirit Contract!"_ Wiping the blood off her hand with a napkin, she blinked when a look of utter confusion flashed on Naruto's face. _"Naru-chan…what wrong?"_

"Spirit…Contract…you were talking about that?" He asked breathlessly.

Tilting her head to the side, she giggled in bemusement. _"Of course, what else did you think I was talking about?"_ Hearing nothing in reply, she frowned and reviewed over her own words before raising a single brow in obvious amusement. _"Ah~…such a perverted fishcake you are Naru-chan!"_ Giggling as he flushed red once more, her grin widened _"First your darling Cecilia-nee, then you're beloved Aka-chan, next is you're adorable Usagi-chan, and now you're trying to woo little old me too!"_ Cupping her right cheek as she tilted her head slightly to the right, her smile began to sparkle as his flush deepened. _"Ah…let's not forget your dear Ten-chan as well, or as you'd like to call her, you're precious Buki-hime! Just how many girls do you plan to seduce before you're satisfied my boy?"_ She asked oh so innocently.

Wishing he could just dig himself into a hole, he pouted as Ashe continued to giggle in his mindscape. It wasn't even that funny! Horribly embarrassing yes, but funny, not so much, "Ah…what's this Spirit Contract you mentioned before?"

Letting out one final giggle…for the time being, she smiled in amusement at Naru-chan's attempt at diverting the conversation. "The Spirit Contract, tell me, do you remember about that fool of a pervert's Summoning Contract?" She asked.

Sighing in relief, he raised a brow at her question. "The one Ero-Sennin has with the Toads? Ah…I remember, why?" If he recalls, Ero-Inu has a Summoning Contract with those Nin-Hounds of his. "Is the Spirit Contract similar to his Summoning Contract or something?"

_"Or something,"_ She replied calmly. _"In a way, you could say that the Summoning Contracts originated from the tips of the Spirit Contracts when the Great Change occurred."_

"Great Change…?" He repeated.

Smiling wildly, she laughed. _"What, you didn't think Mana was something new did you?"_ Hearing nothing in response, she simply shook her head in exasperation as Naruto cheeks lit up once again. He really was blushing a lot tonight, wasn't he! _"Well it's not. Before Chakra came along within the Sage of The Six Paths Era, there were hundreds and hundreds of beings within the lands capable of using Mana in the lands! There were even those that were stronger than the Bijuu of today, frighteningly so in fact!"_

Blinking at that, Naruto was met with silence. "Ah…I kinda expected Kurama to object to that right about now. Speaking of which…" Frowning in thought, he hummed a soft tune. "How come I haven't heard from him yet?"

_'Ah…the fox is sleeping right now."_ Ashe answered casually. _"Apparently he was laughing too much at the expense of your date that he tired himself out…not that he'd admit it anyway."_

"Yeah…that sounds like him." He muttered with a twitching brow, completely missing the fact that Ashe had an all too innocent smile plastered on her face. "Were there really people stronger than the Bijuu?" He asked suddenly.

Tapping her chin wondering how to answer that, she nodded. _"Well, the Sage of The Six Paths was stronger than them."_ Then again, he only fought one Bijuu at the time, and even if he did have help from his brother Hamura, they did…wait…did sealing it count as defeating it? Maybe not, but Hagoromo-gaki would be able to defeat the current nine Bijuu, so that should count at least.

"So there were people as strong as the Sage back in the Era of Mana." He whispered in slight awe and disbelief.

Nodding in response, she grinned. _"Not many, but there was a couple here and there,"_ She said nonchalantly. _"If I recall, there was even some who were __**stronger**__ that the Sage?"_ And she wasn't counting the actual God's into this scale…even if she's completely sure that Hagoromo wasn't completely human. After all, what kind of human had horns growing out of their heads?

"…That's a bit overpowered…don't you think?" He mumbled a bit skeptical. "You sure you're not over-exaggerating it a bit?" The Sage was rumored to even bring the dead back to life, so they're shouldn't be anyone stronger than the person who could do that…right?

_"Ah…it's up to you whether you believe me or not Naru-chan,"_ Ashe replied shrugging her shoulders. _"But I think we've drifted off from the actual conversation a bit. Now where were we…?"_ Blinking, she grinned as she suddenly put on a pair of thin wired spectacles she got from…somewhere. _"Ah…the Spirit Contracts in a way was the basis for the Summoning Contract. Though considering the different energy sources, there had to be a lot of tweaks here and there until it became what you know of today."_ She started with a lecturing tone.

"What was so different with the Spirit Contracts?"

_"Well, for those…here's an example because I'm too lazy to think of a way to explain it!"_ She chirped, only to puff out her cheeks when her Naru-chan didn't comment. _"Ah…well, when one signs a Summoning Contract, they are capable of summoning the entire clan except for a few exceptions if they pass the test given to them by the Boss Summoner, right?"_ Receiving a nod in return, she continued. _"Well, Spirit Contracts were rare even in the days of Magik, mostly because the Spirits they're trying to contract were very dangerous and volatile. Those who didn't even have the reserves to summon them were killed by emptying their Reservoirs past their limits, and those who had the necessary amount were too tired to actually complete the tests afterwards and were killed."_

"Did anyone even make a contract with them then!?" Naruto grimaced nervously. These Spirits sound a bit…dangerous, even for him.

Grimacing in understanding, she nodded. _"It was rare, but there were definitely people who were capable, and successfully made a contract with a Spirit. Those capable were given the title of Saint due to the fact that contracting with a Spirit would give you full control over their particular element."_ Though not without they're drawbacks. _"In these days, they are what you call an S-Rank to SS-Rank Shinobi. Thankfully there were only a handful of them at the time."_ She huffed mumbling the last sentence.

"…and you want me to make a contract with one…?" He muttered weakly. Strong he may be, but he's nowhere near S-Rank. Sure he can kick Chunin's and low Jounin's asses rather easily, but that's mostly because he's a demolition type fighter.

_"No, you're not going to make a contract with those beings."_ Ashe replied in one of her rare moments of seriousness. _"Those things despise Human's above all else, even more so than Kurama had before I smacked him around a bit. Even if you managed to summon one, they'd just kill you on the spot the moment they see you and durable or not, I am not letting you go through that."_ Those things are dangerous, and there's hardly any actual way to kill such a being if you get them angry. She'd be able to do it, but not with her being sealed inside of Naruto.

"If they hate Human's so much, how were they're any Saints to begin with then?" He asked inwardly sighing in relief. If they were able to get the normally insane Ashe get serious, then he definitely does not want to face them!

_"Alright, you're not going to be making a contract with the Spirits, but with me and Kurama." _She started completely ignoring Naruto's question. _"I'll leave the details later when we're finishes, but as I said, to make sure this goes without a hitch, I'm going to need you're permission to use your body for the moment to start, and complete the ritual."_

"Eh-ah…okay…" He mumbled. Wonder why Ashe didn't answer? Was it that uncomfortable?

'Nope, just don't know **how** to answer is all.'Ashe thought sulkily before huffing. _"Anyway, this'll tingle just a bit, so brace you're self."_ Frowning for a moment, he nodded, and just like that, he felt his entire body stiffen for but a moment. A flooding of icy cold warmth sending shiver's up his spine. All that, in but a single moment, before his cerulean blue's flashed a bloody pupiless red. The white in his hair expanding, overtaking the blonde and red rapidly as his skin tone lightened to a fair almost pale shade.

That was what Naruto saw as he hovered several feet away in his hazy ethereal form. _'So…that's what I'd look like if I had Ashe's hair and eyes…"_ He never noticed before, but seeing the spiky mop of white on his hair made it look like it was actually snow. The fairness of his skin…the color of blood for eyes…and apparently his whisker marks had all but vanished. _'Ah…change a few things and I look like a completely different person…who knew?'_ But before he could voice his thoughts aloud, or wonder how he was actually seeing this, his ears twitched at the sudden sound.

Frown lessening, he watched as small specks of light erupted from his—well Ashe's…fingertips like fireflies. Leaning forward in curiosity, he simply watched as they began to split apart and divide into more and more firefly like lights. Each of them hovering harmlessly around in the air for seconds on hand before lining together to form a several rings of light that began to spiral and twist around Ashe.

Ear's twitching, he faintly heard an ominous whisper trailing within the night air. After a couple of seconds listening to the odd chants, the rings molded together to form one giant ring around three meters in diameter. The last thing he saw was the ring abruptly stopping before slamming down into the ground below in a flash of white.

Blinking away the spots in his eyes, he scowled in annoyance when his vision cleared up. Hearing nothing but silence, his eyes drifted softly around the area before noticing that he couldn't see, well…himself anymore. _'Does this mean that it's over?'_ Already…that was quick.

"Of course it was quick my little Naru-chan!" Eh…? "Not every Magik Ritual has to take hours upon hour on end…that's only for the complicated stuff!" Slowly turning himself around, he couldn't help but let out a shaky laugh at the sound of Ashe's voice.

_'That's strange…she's trapped inside my head…right?'_ Icy blue eyes quivering as they spotted a shade of white on the corner of his eyes, a small smile began to form on his lips. _'She can't be out here…right? Right…?'_ But here she was, her long snow white hair gleaming under the moonlight. Her pupiless blood red eyes glinting in bemusement, he couldn't help but freeze at the sight of Ashe standing right before him. "This…this is real…right?" He asked quietly. "You're really here…right?" He asked again, his voice cracking at the end.

Smiling softly in bemusement, she reached out and ran her fingers along her Naru-chan's hair. "Of course I'm here. I've been here with you all along, haven't I?" Smile slowly dropping as her fishcake didn't respond, she took a closer look and wondered what was wrong. "What wrong Naruto?" Why do you look so frail right now? "Are you surprised that I'm here in the flesh?" Worry replacing her amusement, she watched as his dipped his head forward, bangs hanging over his eyes as his shoulders began to shake. "Ah…Naru—"Sentence stopping mid-way as he pulled her into a tight hug, she stood there in confusion as he buried his face into her shoulders. "AH…Naru-chan, what's gotten into you!?" She exclaimed thoughts flustered. She knew he would be happy, but she didn't think he'd be this happy!

"I was scared…" Listening to the crack in his voice, Ashe softly frowned in thought as he continued. "You're real…you're really real…" Eye's softening; she slowly relaxed into his hug.

"Now that is just mean," She smiled softly humming a low tune. "Did you think that one as beautiful as I would be but a figment of your imagination?" She asked with a raised brow. "Even after everything you've been through?" Really, such a silly child you are.

Burying his face further into the crook of her neck, Naruto pulled himself back after a couple moments staring at his feet. "I know…" He mumbled like a child being scolded by their mother. "But…I was still scared." Arms still wrapped around her, his relished the warmth that she radiated. The same warmth telling him that she as really here…and not just a cruel dream like all the others. "Even though I knew you really existed, I was still scared that you were just a figment of thought. Even though you did so many things that proved you were real…I was still scared that everything was a dream!"

Smiling in slight exasperation, she ruffled his head playfully making him squirm. "Hai, hai; well I'm here now Naru-chan, so you can let those fears of yours to rest." Cupping his chin, she raised it and flicked his forehead with her free hand making him wince. "Besides, men aren't supposed to cry."

Rubbing the red mark she gave him, he tried to scowl, but it came out as a pout instead because of how happy he was feeling. "I wasn't crying!" he protested looking up towards her.

Giggling, Ashe simply shook her before noticing one thing. "Ah…so…how long are you going to keep me wrapped in your arms Naru-chan?" She asked with an innocent tilt of her head. "Or are you really trying to seduce little old me?"

Immediately separating from her with a flushed face, he really did scowl this time as Ashe simply laughed. "Now then, I'm sure you're wondering how I was able to come out here to begin with, right."

Flush dying down, he simply nodded. "The seal was what kept you trapped, didn't it? So how did you leave it?" Not that he was angry that she was out, just curious how she was able to escape a seal powered by the Shinigami.

Smiling slyly, she simply pointed down. His eye's following right behind as he spotted a pure yellow circle rotating around them right above each blade of grass. "That ring of light is what's actually allowing me outside of the seal right now." She explained. "I won't explain how exactly because I'm stingy light that, but I can say is that it's a mixture between the Spirit Contracts of the old, and the Witch's Familiar Rituals. And no," She frowned seeing the boy's curiosity peaked. "I'll explain about the Witch's later because this **Ring** can only last so long, and when it disappears, I'll be sent right back into the seal."

Nodding rapidly up and down in assent, he made the motion of zipping up his lips to say that he'd keep quite. Lips quirking into a bemused smile, she flicked his forehead causing him to glare. "Now then, this won't take long!" She said clapping her hands. "Like I said before, you won't need to do much but stand, 'kay?"

Nodding a bit, he frowned slightly in curiosity as she motioned for him to stand in the exact center of the **Ring**. Stepping forward slightly, he looked ahead only to see a glowing finger lightly pressing against his forehead. "So, just stand absolutely still." He heard her whisper. And before he knew it, her finger slashed down right towards his chest, a trail of blinding white light streaking right behind.

* * *

_**(Sea of Memories)**_

* * *

Amethyst eyes snapping open, **Menma** could only look forward with his pupiless slitted eyes as a familiar feeling roared just at the briefest corners of his senses. A familiar **revolting** sensation, but as of now, he can do nothing to stop what that foolish woman from actually finishing her goal.

Lingering motionlessly in this ocean of thoughts, his gaze drifted. His thoughts fading with each passing second, he eyed the once clear blue ocean with a detached gaze. The panels drifted peacefully, yet unaware of the blackening waters around them. Feeling a brief sting, he slowly turned his attention to the small shade of white forming around the bridges of his right hand. "If you think you are protecting him by doing this, then you couldn't be more wrong." He declared into empty space. No one responded, but he knew his message was heard.

Turning his gaze away from his right hand, small white chain like tattoo slowly forming, link by link, until his entire arm was constricted in pure white chains. "This will never hold." He said calmly. Another set of chains began to spiral up his arm, and another, and another, until finally, five glowing chain like tattoo's coiled up his right arm. Feeling something shift in himself, he blinked, and raised his free left arm. His left index finger igniting in an ominous pitch black glow, the whiskers on his cheeks sharpened. "Someday…one day…you will not know how…" He whispered, the surrounding panels answering to his thoughts. "…you will not know when…and you will not know why…" Eyeing the mirror before him, his reflection on its clear surface glimmered, it showed key differences changing showing him **Hikari**…it showed him Naruto. Staring right into the cerulean blues with his deep amethysts, he pressed his left index finger softly against the Naruto's forehead. "…but he will need the darkness…he will require its power…" Slashing down towards his chest, a pitch black trail streaking behind, the white of **Menma's** eyes twisted and churned into an inky black shade. "…he will require its ruthlessness…for he cannot escape what he was…what he's done…" Thoughts of the attacking villager's coming to mind, he halted his finger right at Naruto's sternum before slashing right. "…for to protect those he cares…he will need to become the monster to those who would dare…"

* * *

_**(With Ashe)**_

* * *

Watching as Naruto's eye's glazed over; she stopped her finger right at his sternum and scowled, Menma's words echoing in her ears. Eye's flashing a deep golden shade; she slashed her finger to the left. _"He needs not rely on the darkness."_ She replied tonelessly, her eyes lingering on the trail of white light left behind where her finger's crossed, a bright white L hanging suspended in place. Staying absolutely still for a moment, the light originating from her right index finger brightened as she trailed it along in the air, a bright white trail of white following behind as she turned to her left. _"For what use is power…if the one who he seeks to protect, can no longer recognize their knight."_ And with that, she took her first step to her right and started to circle around Naruto's prone form. Bright white trails of light streaking here and there forming archaic symbols that brightened with each stroke. _"They say that the road to hell is paved with good intentions."_

* * *

_**(Sea of Memories)**_

* * *

Instead of moving like Ashe had been, Naruto's form in the mirror began to turn to his right. "The road to hell is but a single stop." **Menma** smiled wryly, a distant demonic glint flashing in his eyes as streaks of black began to light around Naruto's form, and archaic symbol's igniting a demonic black with each stroke. "For the road to power in but an endless journey," Feeling the chains on his right arm tighten in response to the passing seconds, his smile dropped to a flat frown, another finger on his left ignited a bright black as the strokes began to streak through even faster with more and more symbols embedding themselves on Naruto's form, writhing like black swirling waves. "With the start being but a single common question…" A third finger lit, but by that time, Naruto's rotation had all but stopped right at his back, and with that, he started to carefully trace strange tribal markings along his back. "How can one protect others if one can't even protect themselves?" Eyeing the black claw like feathers around the sides of his waist, he began to twist his fingers around the center of each shoulder blade as a fourth finger ignited. "How can one protect anyone, when they're thoughts are blinded by the lies given by the light?" Tracing the last of the black crystalline markings, he pressed his thumb right in between his shoulder blades before tracing ring after ring around it. Removing his fingers, he eyed the symbol for a moment before pressing his index finger against the base of his neck. "…from day's to weeks, and weeks to months and months to years." Slashing down followed by a sharp black streak, his expression tightened as memories flashed to the forefront of his thoughts. "Tell me. What use is the light, when all it gives are lies?" After his fifth finger ignited in a burst of black, a trail of darkness trailed after his hand as he pressed his fingers together into a knife like motion. "What use is it when it can't give you the power you need?" Pressing the tip of his fingers flatly against the back of his waist, he frowned. "What use it is, when it can't give you what you need, the moment you need it most?"

* * *

_**(With Ashe)**_

* * *

Slashing her hand across his shoulders, her eyes softened at his question before they hardened. Continuing her trek around Naruto, she finished forming the symbols that floated harmlessly in the air before stopping. Turning, she faced Naruto's dazed form directly. _"That path has been taken many times, and nothing but sorrow and loneliness has occurred child."_ Five fingers illuminating with a misty white light, she pressed her fingers into her palm deep enough to draw blood. _"Every single one of them fell into insanity. Every single one of them paid their price for power."_ Looking right into Naruto's dazed eyes, it flashed from its usual cerulean into a conscious amethyst. The blood dripping from her palm trailing along her fingers, the wound she inflicted on herself had all but healed when all traces of blood began to trail off her each fingers and spiral around the mist like glows. _"That very rice being the very things they cherish dear." _Pressing forward, she placed her hand flatly against Naruto's chest, right above where his heart would be. _"The darkness alone cannot, and will not, protect what you wish."_

* * *

_**(Sea of Memories)**_

* * *

Hand igniting with dim black mist, his hand sank right into Naruto's chest. "Yet here you are, sealing away the darkness in his heart." Chain's tightening painfully on his right arm; the symbols that hovered around Naruto's form began to shake. "For even if you seal the darkness, his thoughts shall always remain, as his memories will forever stay the same." Slowly sinking his hand into Naruto's chest, tendrils of darkness erupted from its corners. "He was born in darkness…he was bathed in it…and he shall stay within its embrace." Stabbing the rest of him arm into Naruto, the hovering symbols exploded showering the world around them with black. "After all…for those conceived in the darkness…you know what happens best for those who are tempted by the light."

* * *

_**(With Ashe)**_

* * *

Eye's sharpening in remembrance, the tendrils of light that spiral wildly around Naruto in a maelstrom of white shot forward the moment Ashe jerked back her arm from Naruto's chest. _"Naruto has been within the darkness for too long, for much too long."_ Watching as tendril after tendril of white streaks slammed into Naruto's body from all sides, she raised her left hand in preparation. _"Too much darkness, and one would lose themselves, too much light, and one would blind them from the truth."_ Right hand erupting in pitch black, her left erupted in bright white as trails of red ethereal energy spiraled around her arms. _"For one to truly protect what they love, to triumph over enemies one after another, one cannot go without the other."_ Clapping her hands together, a shock-wave of black and white erupted within the clearing in response. _"For him to rise above his destiny, for him to destroy the strings to his fate, one must not acknowledge both as separate, but as one."_

* * *

_**(Sea of Memories)**_

* * *

As shock-waves of spiraling crimson winds and pitch black waters twisted in the **Sea of Memories,** **Menma** closed his eyes in thought as deep amethyst ethereal energy spiraled around his arms. Reopening his eyes, he watched as tendril after tendril of the darkest black slam into Naruto one after another from all sides. Pulling apart his hands, a shifting red and black hexagonal crystal with an amethyst core hovered right in between. Snatching out of the air with his left hand, he pulled back his arm. "This world of Shinobi is steeped in blood and darkness…"

* * *

_**(With Ashe)**_

* * *

"…_yet at the same time, it shines brightly with will of life…"_ Ashe continued as a red and white matching hexagonal crystal was snatched by her right. _"…but in the end, none of that matters…"_ Snapping her arms forward…

* * *

_**(Sea of Memories)**_

* * *

"…for even when the world was born in darkness…" **Menma** continued as he slammed the crystal right into the center of Naruto's chest, the remaining tendrils all shot towards it in an instant.

* * *

_**(With Ashe)**_

* * *

"…_for even as the world ends in a flash of light…"_ Pulling back her arm, she watched as Naruto's body began to shine an ethereal white as **Menma** viewed his primal black. _"…the world will always be enveloped in a shade of grey."_ And with that, Naruto's body flashed an exploding flare of black and white.

After a couple minutes passed, the light slowly faded away into the night. Eye's kept wide open, she watched as Naruto hovered inches above the ground for moments on end. The top part of his nightwear, his shirt all but vanishing from sight as markings in the shape of demonic black jagged crystalline feathers materialized down his left shoulder before stopping just above his wrist. Pure white smooth shifting feathers materializing down his right shoulder stopping just above his wrist. And right on his bare chest, crimson chains like tattoo's trailing diagonally down the shoulders to the hips forming an X like shape. The Kanji for one located just above the connected points before the Kanji for two formed right above it and three above that and so on so forth till the Kanji for nine, Kyu, formed right at the base of his neck.

Staring softly at the markings, she let a brief smile slip as **Menma** left one final comment before severing the link. "Betray us…and the darkness with be the least of your worries." It was a blatant threat, but it still made her smile as it still allowed for Naruto to walk within the light, even if it was but for a short time. Nodding, she simply waited for a couple moments, and sighed inwardly in relief when the tattoos began to recede into his skin. The one's on his left arm appearing in the shape of an Obsidian bangle with an amethyst gem embedded within, crimson ring connecting both sides. The white being its opposite with a black ring and blood red gemstone, but as for the one around his neck, she could only smile as a crimson steel Kanji for nine hanged right next to Naruto's tear shaped pendant.

Grin widening, Naruto's body ceased its glowing before he dropped into her spread out arms. Seeing him sleeping peacefully, she couldn't help but giggle as the **Ring** slowly faded away. "Guess I should have mentioned that it'd take a lot of your Mana to complete it." Shaking her head, her smile widened as the **Ring **completely faded away, her form was still present in the clearing. "Guess it was a success after all." She mumbled.

Softly pushing Naruto's bangs out of his eyes, her smile softened. "Guess it's time I bring you back to bed…but, I think I should take care of the rat first." And with that, she snapped her gaze around towards the cloaked individual hiding within the tree's several miles away. Her deep crimson eyes piercing through his blank mask, she simply smiled as the intruder took it as a sign to disappear. That was the last thing he decided though, when thin threads of light coiled around his body, instantly tearing him into pieces that were quickly devoured by the surrounding shadows.

* * *

_**A/N: Ah...I hope you liked the chapter...so review you're thoughts and questions if you have any...ah...and just to let you know...I have a poll set up on my profile just in case you're curious.**_


	19. Chapter 18

_**Ah...I do not own Naruto...but all original Characters and idea's are mine.**_

_**Chapter 18**_

* * *

_**A/N: Ah...sorry about being late with the update...but things came up. But...this chapter signifies the end of the beginning...at the start of the Wave Arc...albeit with my own personal touches. Hope you like it!**_

_**thor94: Compared to most rituals...contracted with Witches...the one Ashe used...though of her own design wasn't all that complicated. As for his new **_**_Accessories...the only one he might need...to give a crackpot explanation to would be...Natsumi...and that's a big if...with their relationship being rocky at best._**

* * *

Staring up at the waning crescent in the sky, dark brown eyes blinked in silence as the last couple of minutes constantly replayed within his thoughts. Expression slack and bored, a small gleam of interest flashed within his eyes. It was but for a moment, but it was there all the same, before it returned to its normal apathetic gaze.

Cocking his head to the side, he shifted his shoulders against the tree he was leaning on, carefully making sure he does not make a twenty foot drop from his perch to the ground. Eye's drifting to the horizon; he distinctly felt another brief pulse of power spread throughout the air. The sensation barely tingling against the edges of his range, he guessed that had he not be who he was; he probably would have not felt it.

…But he did, and it was because he did, that his curiosity was picked, as uncommon as it was. _'But…to think that there was someone capable of using it...'_ Besides the people of his land, the use of that energy had been strictly forgotten and overtaken by the Rikudo's Ninshu…or Ninjutsu as most would call it.

Attention lingering on the horizon, they slowly drifted towards the ground where the others had set up camp. Four six by seven meter rectangular tents displayed on the ground a good couple meters away from the other, a burning orange flame crackling within its epicenter. Staring at the flames briefly, he turned back to look towards the moon.

'…_I wonder if anyone else felt it.'_ If they had…good for them, and if they hadn't…well, he doesn't have an obligation to tell them. Besides, he's not going to ruin the chance of the first thing that peaked his interest get taken away.

Letting out a short yawn, he stared silently at the moon. A single question in mind as he slowly drifted to sleep, _'How long…how long will this new development keep me interested this time…?'_

Down below on the ground, a figure walked out of one of the tents, only to turn towards the tree. His dark brown eyes gazing at the sleeping figure on its branches. Staring for a moment, he turned to the area behind the tree; his eye's wrinkling in weary annoyance. For right behind the tree was a group of small violet tinted black cubes positioned in a way to form a seven layered pyramid. He didn't need to know why it was there, or what it was. Because the moment he spotted the grey circles orbiting around it, he knew who it belonged to. And that by itself worked as a repellent for anyone who might let their curiosity get the better of them.

* * *

_**(Konohagakure no Sato—Midday)**_

* * *

Smacking his hand against the blackboard he **borrowed** from the Academy, Naruto simply cackled in amusement as his dear Usagi-chan looked upon his glorious form in confusion. But was he insulted, of course he wasn't. After all, it I rare for a mortal to understand one such as he!

"Are you done with your internal monologue gaki?" A gruff voice questioned interrupting his pseudo-arrogant parade. But no sooner did this happen did a hand grabbed the back of his skull from behind only to effortlessly lift him in the air and toss his away. His face planting right next to the spot Kokoro was sitting at. "Because if you are, then I'm ready to throw you for stealing my stick," The voice grunted in irritation. "Only I'm allowed to act like a pompous jackass with the power to back it up! You're just the pretty boy who's unknowingly building himself a Harem of girls while acting like you're idiotic childish self."

Face still planted into the ground, Naruto's simply raised his face with a blank expression on his face, a single brow twitching as he turned around to sharply glare at the toothily grinning **Young** Adult right in front of **his** chalkboard. _'I stole the thing damn-it, so it's mine!'_ He shouted inwardly.

Deep within his mindscape however, Ashe could only shake her head in exasperated amusement. "He gets thrown into the ground and it's the chalkboard he's mad about?" Though thinking on it now, she guess that she'll leave it be. This is the first time in a while that she's ever seen Naruto act his age.

Back with Kokoro, she could only stare in confusion as Naruto entered a glaring contest with a strange man that appeared out of nowhere…well, not exactly. The man had been sleeping in…now that she thought about it. Gaze drifting around, she couldn't help but feel a bit nervous. This is the first time she's ever been in a boy's apartment, much less Naruto's room. Turning her attention back to the man lying on what she presumed to be Naruto's bed, she frowned.

He looked to be around twenty years old man who could probably stand at a height of '6'01''. The man was currently wearing a long sleeved scarlet kimono top with a clean white obi and black hakama pants. He wasn't bulky, but he wasn't skinny either. His build looking lean and firm, he had an olive complexion with a triangular shaped face and sharp fox shaped eyes. His hair being a messy spiky mop of crimson with two long spikes leaning back against his skull like a pair of rabbit ears. His slitted crimson eyes momentarily meeting her's briefly before turning back to leer at Naruto in a mocking manner. Naruto glared back even harder before smirking, a spray bottle appearing in his hands which made the man's smug look sour.

"Put that away gaki before I decide to fillet you." He scowled darkly. "Besides, aren't the hosts supposed to be giving their guests the best hospitality possible?"

'_You're more of a pest than a guest.'_ Naruto muttered inwardly as he tossed the bottle away. Eye's drifting towards his Usagi-chan, he bit back a sigh. The least he could do is act nice, even if it's in the presence of the living rug.

'_I heard that kit.'_ The man grunted in annoyance, but other than that, he simply stayed silent idly wishing he had some Sake.

"Sorry about the confusion Usagi-chan, I know we were supposed to start with the sparring sessions today, but **that**—" He stated jabbing his thumb towards the waving red head. "—decided that today was the day to make a surprise visit! Beware though, despite his otherwise gangster like appearance, he's actually a hundred times worse." He whispered dramatically into her ears eliciting a twitching brow from said man and a confused giggle from Kokoro.

Rapping his knuckles against the chalkboard, the man sat up cross legged on the bed. "Alright, considering the fact that the multi-colored gaki would take hours on end before actually introducing me, I'll take over for today." He proclaimed shutting Naruto up with a silent glare. He wasn't really in the mood considering the wretched vixen woke him up from his nap. Even more so when she was the one that put him in said nap. _'Damn woman's creepier then Oyaji during his drinking days.'_ A drunken Sage is the one thing you do not want to anger.

Attention shifting from the man and Naruto, Kokoro nodded uncertainly. "So…he's a friend of yours…?"

Before Naruto could protest to that though, the man interrupted him by throwing a pillow at Naruto's head snapping him back. "I'm more of a cynically insane Uncle," He commented with a grin. "…an Uncle that's having a sudden craving for Sake right about now. Oi Gaki, where's the Sake?" His question earned him a small gourd to snatch out of the air before it slammed into his face. Shaking if for a moment; he listened to the sloshing inside and set the gourd down beside him. "Eh, I'm not in the mood."

Eye's ticking in thinly veiled annoyance, Naruto sat right back down next to his rabbit in attempts that her presence would calm him. "If you weren't going to drink the damn Sake, then why'd you ask for it?" Safe to say it didn't work.

In his mindscape, Ashe could only shake her head once more at Naruto's sudden attitude. "He must be really happy if he's casually getting angry in front of company."

Holding up two fingers, the red head's smile simply widened. "For one, why'd you get me the Sake to begin with?" He laughed dropping a finger. "And two, because I want to piss you off!" Tilting his head to the side, he caught the hammer that was intended to cave in his skull. _'I'm not going to even question where he got the thing.'_ "Now then, ignoring the steaming fishcake for a moment, my name is Ootsutsuki Kurama, but you shall address me a Kurama-sama!" He drawled introducing himself. "And in a way, I taught the brat a bit of what I knew while you other brats were off learning how to play ninja."

"You just love pissing people off, don't you?" Naruto asked wearily after a couple moments silence.

Giving the brat a vulpine grin, he shrugged. "It's a gift."

Watching the interaction between the two with bemusement, Kokoro smiled…even if she was feeling a bit jealous. Naruto never really acted this relaxed with her like he's doing with this man, Kurama he had introduced himself as. When he turned his gaze back on her, her smile dropped. A sense of familiarity tingled at the back of her mind, but she couldn't understand why.

"Well, aren't you going to introduce yourself?" Kurama asked bluntly.

Flushing slightly at that, she nodded. "My name is…Tetsumi Kokoro…Kurama-san."

"San, she says." He muttered before sighing. "Alright, as the gaki said, I'm here for a surprise visit because rumors on the grapevine pointed to a certain multi-colored haired gaki losing to an over sized pussy-cat." Stiffening at the mention of Torazuki, Naruto scowled in warning, but Kurama ignored him. "If it was just any over sized pussy-cat, I'd put you through the Kurama Deluxe Boot Camp, but as your luck would have it," Again "You ended up fighting the one pussy-cat that I will forgive your loss to just this once given who the stupid feline was. And no, I'm not telling you who gaki." He said shooting down Naruto's interest. "And this is what I'm going to do first." Twisting his wrist, a piece of chalk appeared in the palm of his hand, and he turned the blackboard towards him before starting to write. After a couple minutes, he faced it back towards them showing them a list of names.

"Alright, here's the current power setting would be from 1 to 100." Kurama started with a snort. "On that scale, Civilians going to Academy Students would be from 1 to 10. Academy Student to Gennin goes from 11 to 20 and Gennin to Chunin are from 21 to 30. Chunin goes to Tokubetsu Jounin from 31 to 40. Tokubetsu Jounin goes to Jounin from 41 to 45 and the Jounin to ANBU range around 46 to 60. ANBU to Sannin level would be a good 61 to 70. Sannin to Kage, 71 to 80; Kage to Sage, 81 to 90; Sage to Incarnation would be a good 91 to 95 with Incarnation to Kami would be a final 96 to a pure fucking 100." Stopping for a moment, he put some thought into it and continued.

"But the thing, going from one rank to another would take twice the effort than the previous one. So say that you're a civilian, that'd be a 1, but you'd need a 2 to be an Academy student. Double that and you'd need a 4 to be a Gennin, an 8 to reach Chunin, and 16 to reach Tokubetsu, 32 for Jounin, 64 for ANBU, 128 for Sannin, 256 for Kage, and a full 512 to reach the level of a Sage, 1024 to Incarnation, and a nearly if not suicidal 2048 times the effort you used to become a Sage to be at the level of a God. You got that, but remember this; these do not represent the titles themselves, but their actual power and combat capability. You follow me?"

Blinking once, twice, trice, and four times, Naruto simply stared slowly processing what Kurama had said and connecting it to the numbers on the blackboard. After a couple moments, he turned to Kokoro to see her nodding in understanding. _'…well, at least I know now who's smarter between us two.'_ Nodding his understanding in kind, he was surprised when Kurama ended up snorting. "Alright, now don't ask questions until I'm done finishing another fucking graph."

"…Eh…?"

Scowling, Kurama turned the blackboard back to him and started to write once more. Only for him to turn it back towards them with another list of numbers on the right side of the board. "Alright, this one right here is the Current Grading System we use to measure the power of beings like that pussy-cat a while back, Torazuki you named." Seeing the questioning glance Kokoro sent Naruto, Kurama snapped his fingers impatiently getting their attention. "Alright, there are no fancy titles for these, simply letters starting for E. In comparison to the first chart, there are the ones that do not appear on the grid with would be the Shattered up to the lowest level of the grin, Rank-E. That would be from 15 to 25. Those below 15 aren't even considered Shattered and are what you would call Civilians. From Rank-E to D, that would be from 26 to 35. From Rank-D to C, 36 to 50; Rank-C to B, 51 to 65; Rank-B to A, 66 to 85; Rank-A to S, 86 to 90; Rank- S to SS, 91 to 95 and from Rank-SS to a full on SSS would be from 96 to 100." Taking a short breather, Kurama stopped once again to see if they were following along. After a couple moments of silence, he continued. "Now then, I want you to take in all this information…and shred it to pieces while setting the remains ablaze." He stated bluntly much to their shock.

Staring blankly at the fox turned human, Naruto could only take in a deep breath and release in hopes in restraining the urges to make a fur coat for the winter. "…Why'd you bother telling us this if you just wanted us to forget?"

"Figure it out brat." Kurama waved him off. "Use that round fleshy thing you got around your shoulders for once, even if it's as hollow as your stomach when it comes to ramen." Naruto decided it was better not to comment much to the fox's disappointment.

"…it's because they're not accurate…right." Turning his gaze onto Kokoro, he smirked when she flushed from the sudden attention she was getting.

"That's right," He confirmed with a nod. "This entire thing only gives you the base power of any opponents you face. So if you fight a Rank-C, there are chances that they have a technique that increases they're power. Some may be a Rank-D, but could actually be a Rank-C because they might be limiting they're power with seals. So in a sense, don't let the Level Grin affect how you view your opponents, because not everything is as it seems. And besides," Grin sharpening with a sadistic glint, he laughed. "Whether they're lower in rank or not, it only takes a single moment for everything to end." Eye's sharpening; he lashed out at the blackboard with his right hand, his fingers slicing right through it like hot butter. "Got it?" Watching the remaining pieces fall to the floor in a heap, the nodded.

"…you do know I stole that from the Academy…right?"

"And," He snorted as he flexed his clawed fingers.

"That means I have nothing to return."

"You were never going to return it." Kurama said flatly.

Blinking, Naruto huffed. "Good point." Lips twitching, a thought came to mind. "If what you said is true…whats the difference between me and Natsumi on the scale?" He was curious about how much power his sister had considering she was trained by the **Yondaime** and the **Akashi no Habanero.**

Breaking out in a yawn, Kurama stared at the boy in front of him with a weary gaze. "As I said, it's not accurate, but you should be a Rank-D, Mid-Tier, a 43 on the Shinobi Grid" Rolling his shoulders, he blinked a couple times before continuing. "And before you ask, there is a Low-Tier, Mid-Tier, and High-Tier for each of the Ranks that'll tell you how close you are to go up a Level on the grid. The Mini-Habanero would be a 33, a Low-Chunin in the Shinobi Grid." Eye's drifting towards Kokoro; he let himself lie flatly against the soft mattress. Oh how he missed the comfy goodness that was a bed! "Your Girlfriend would be a Low-Tier Rank-E, barely making the 25 mark." Yawning once more, he grunted out one final response ignoring their denials and blubbering protests. He'll have to fix that soon. If the kid waits to long to get what he wants, it'll end up bad in the end. "As for Torazuki, he'd be a High-Tier Rank-B, an 83 on the Shinobi Grid. Now if you need me, just go find a room to fuck each other to pass the time. Because frankly, I'm going to take a nice…long…nap." And with that, he fell asleep leaving two scarlet teens with one being as frozen as a scarlet statue while the other tried to apologize. _'Ah…the joys of messing with the youth…'_ He trailed off inwardly with a soft-hearted chuckle before falling right to sleep.

* * *

_**(One Hour Later)**_

* * *

_"I still think you should have stayed with her for a bit longer." _Ashe whined. _"I wanna see you two get all flustered again and again~!"_

_'Ashe…your true thoughts are showing.'_ Naruto mumbled inwardly, a dust of pink decorating his cheeks. _'And besides, wouldn't you do the same after a comment like that?'_

Blinking for a moment, she put some thought into it, and her mind instantly went to a certain idiot with dirty blonde curls and his idiotic chocolate brown eyes with the black rim at the edges. Raising a brow at Ashe's sudden silence, a thought came to mind.

Ashe is a full grown adult…but did she have someone she loved before she got sealed into him? It wasn't a pleasant thought to think about. _"I wouldn't really know."_ She said to him. _"But, as it is now, we're talking about your love life, not mine Naru-chan."_

_'And on another note, how come you're not out here?'_ Eye's drifting towards his right arm; he stared at the white bangle attached to his wrist with a frown. _'Shouldn't you be able to come out now?'_

_"Aw~~…does my precious Naru-chan miss me that much!"_ She cooed giggling like a loon. _"Don't you worry fishcake, I'm just in here to survey you're mindscape for any after effects of the ritual. Once I'm done, I'll bury you in all the cuddles and hugs you would ever want!"_

_'Can I respectfully decline?'_

_"Nope,"_ Ashe cackled. _"It's been a long fourteen years Fishcake, and I'm going to need a warm plushy to cuddle with!"_

_'Then I must disrespectfully decline.'_ He deadpanned with weary amusement. Ashe had been acting a bit serious ever since the Torazuki incident came along, but he's glad that she's relatively back to normal…for her standards at least.

_"…You're getting to sassy for your own good Naru-chan!"_ Ashe deadpanned somehow adding a sadistic chirp in her tone. _"And for that, I feel a bit bored now that I think about it. Maybe I can find something to screw around with in this empty space you call a head!?"_ And before Naruto could properly register what she said, the link was cut. "Woman are psychotic…there's no other logical explanation."

But as soon as those words left his lips, the sensation of cold steel pressed against the back of his neck. "I hope you're not including me in that category Ruto-chan~?" Eye's twitching, Naruto smiled.

"Don't worry Ten-chan; you're in a category all on your own!" After a couple moments, nothing happened. But when the blade**-cause it can't be anything else-**pulled away, he let out a sigh inwardly in relief.

"Being blunt like that won't help you get a Girlfriend Ruto-chan." Ten-ten deadpanned after a moment's silence.

Chuckling, Naruto turned around with a small smile. "If I wanted a Girlfriend, I'd just ask you." Seeing her brows twitch for a moment, he laughed. "You're already back from you're mission? How was it?" She's been gone for a while, so he was getting a tad worried.

Letting his earlier comment pass, she simply sighed while twirling a Kunai around by its ring. "Exhausting, having to deal with all those Iwa Shinobi glaring murder at my back was annoying." She complained. "Even more so when I had to deal with Gai-sensei and Lee screaming about Youth every three seconds…" Stopping for a moment, she scowled. "Did you know that they gave the Tsuchikage a heart attack with that Eternal Sunset Genjutsu of theirs?"

Blinking, Naruto simply shrugged. "Tis' was only a matter of time before they killed someone with that." He muttered shaking his head. "So, what, should I be expecting a battalion of Iwa Shinobi when, Tuesday, next Friday, or how 'bout in three minutes? If so, tell them that they're free to take a right upon illegally entering the village, and then take a left before rounding about at the next fork of the road before finally stopping about three miles North-West. That should take them to the Hardware Store to take a look at the variety of Fences they have they're. They'll probably find one less chipped and old than they're old Tsuchikage, and all should be well."

Face blank, Ten-ten simply shook her head. "Why…just…why…?" Why was he so…so…?

Tilting his head curiously, he simply frowned. "Would it make you feel better if I told you that I booby-trapped the place to detonate within the next five seconds for not giving me the materials to make my palace with the capability of transporting me into alternate realities?"

"…What?"

Tilting his head to the right, the sound of something deactivating sounded within his mind. "…What?" He replied mimicking her.

Twirling her Kunai, she simply stared before sighing once again. "The Tsuchikage ain't dead ya moron, but I guess it was my fault for expecting you to not say something random in a conversation." Taking a deep breath, she pocketed her Kunai, and began walking.

Following after her with a snort, Naruto chuckled. "So what were you doing in Iwa anyway? I'm pretty sure they hated our guts." Understatement of the year, _'If I recall, some of those idiots came to assassinate me and Natsumi a couple years back.'_ It was around the time he started gathering his pets.

Nodding, Ten-ten looked over her shoulder. "Sorry, Shinobi Confidentiality," Laughing at the flash of annoyance that flickered in Naruto's eyes, she grinned. "But, if you join, then just maybe I'll tell you!"

Waving his hand from side to side, he closed his eyes in thought. "Yeah…no," Naruto declined bluntly. "I'm fine with my life as is."

Eyeing him for a moment, she shrugged before noticing something glint. "When'd you decide to wear bangles? And you got a new piece for your necklace?" They looked…strange. It's as if they were naturally formed like that?

Opening his eyes, they flashed a brief purple, something that Ten-ten barely caught at the corners of her peripheral vision. "I got them just the other day, and as for why…" Eye's drifting to the ornaments, his grin widened. "…why'd I get them again?" He asked frowning after a moment's silence.

"…How should I know…Baka~," Ten-ten said erupting in a brief giggle. "But, you should keep them." Smiling softly, her gaze lingered on him for a moment before turning away. "In an odd way, they sort of fit you."

Brows rising, Naruto tilted his head in confusion. "Ten-ten…?"

"…Oi, Ruto…did you really mean what you said earlier?" She asked quietly after a moment.

"About what, the Shinobi thing…?"

Keeping silent, Ten-ten simply grinned. "...I have to go to the Hokage Tower to admit my Mission Report. See you another time Ruto-chan!" And with that, she started off on her way without giving Naruto a chance to respond.

Staring after her, Naruto could only shrug his run his fingers through his hair in confusion. "Wonder what's wrong with Ten-ten?" He asked himself. Shrugging after a couple seconds, he turned to stare at the Hokage Tower with a distinct frown before turning around. _'I wonder if Usagi-chan found my apology present.'_

* * *

_**(With Kokoro)**_

* * *

Staring at the books in her hand, she turned to the note in her other. A small chibi Naruto with fox like ears giving her a thumb's up being the only thing on it. Giggling, she turned back to the first book and blinked at the title. **"Solomon's Guide to Trolling Your Enemies,"** She mumbled. Why does that name sound familiar? And what does troll mean?

Putting the book down to the side of her sofa, she turned to the second book. **"Solomon's Guide to Guiding Your Enemy to the Slaughter,"** Grimacing as the words left her mouth, she was really beginning to feel that this Solomon person wasn't right in the head. There were two more books, but she was a bit scared to find out what they said.

Putting down the second, she picked up the third. **"Solomon's Guide to Manipulating Your Enemies Thoughts and Emotions,"** Pressing her lips together, she nodded. Well, this one doesn't seem too bad…probably.

Putting that down, she picked up the last one. **"Ashe's Guide to Getting Dense Blonde's to Notice You,"** Blinking, she simply stared.

* * *

_**(With Naruto)**_

* * *

_'I hope she liked the books I sent her…'_ Naruto thought trailing off after a moment. _'Though I do wonder why Ashe decided to add that fourth one.'_ She wouldn't even let him read the title. Humming in annoyance, he started off in a random direction.

Eye's drifting around the street; he simply watched as people passed him by without as much as a glare. There were no whispers. There wasn't even a single scowl directed his way. It's like they were simply ignoring him. _'…did they finally give up?'_ Hearing nothing in response, he simply let out a brief smile. Well…at least he won't have to deal with them anymore. Maybe he can finally live in peace in this village.

**"ARGH,"** Or not…

Ear's twitching, he watched as a familiar blonde walked into sight from the next corner with a scowl on her face. Two other's following right behind, and judging by the headbands on them, they're her Gennin team for the most part.

The first one has shoulder length black hair tied up into a spiky ponytail, narrow brown eyes, and irritated expression clear on his otherwise lazy weary face. He was slouching with his hands in his pockets, no doubt ignoring whatever it was Ino was saying. He had a thin profile, even more so compared to his…big-boned friend. He sported a pair of silver loop earrings and stood at a height of '5'01'' with a green linen messed T-shirt under a short sleeved grey jacket with green edges, the symbol of a circle with a line crossing through it being located on its sleeves and back. His forehead protector was tied around his left arm, but other than that, he wore simple brown pants that stopped just above his ankles, a kunai holster attached to his right leg, and blue sandals.

This was Nara Shikamaru of the Nara Clan within Konohagakure. An apparent clan of geniuses if he recalled, completely lazy, but geniuses none the less…well, the men are the lazy one's though. And it seems that this Nara is following in closely on his clans footsteps.

The one besides him eating a bag of Barbecued flavor chips had a robust physique. He was certainly…well-rounded, but for some reason he got the feeling that any normal punch would literally just bounce off him and he wouldn't even know it. His name was Akimichi Chouji, and he stood at a height of '5'02''wearing black shorts, a short sleeved green haori over a white shirt with the Kanji for food on it, and a long white scarf wrapped around his neck. Just like Shikamaru, Chouji had small silver hoop earrings with bandages wrapped around his forearms and legs. His forehead protector being styled in a way to allow two tufts of brown hair to poke out on each side of his head.

_'…I've seen a total of two of the three graduating teams.'_ He thought airily. _'And out of the six, five are heirs to their respective clans.'_ Are there going to be any bets to see if the last three are any different?

Now then, let's take ourselves to the raving blonde psycho…yeah, anyone part of a clan that can literally scramble your mind from the inside out would **have** to be a bit on the touched side. _'Wait…I'm blonde…'_ Well, he certainly wasn't raving that's for sure…sometimes. _'And I'm perfectly sane thank you very much!'_ He muttered, huffing at the indignation of being called a psycho. He completely ignored the fact that talking to your self was the first step to insanity.

In a parallel universe, a familiar spiky haired blonde sneezed before snapping his head around suspiciously, his eyes narrowing in thought as he wondered if someone was talking about him. After a couple moments of silence, he grumbled before going back to revising Ero-Sennin's stupid book.

"How troublesome…" Shikamaru mumbled. "Chouji…what's Ino screaming about again?" He asked his friend.

Stopping his hand from putting the chip in his mouth, Chouji simply frowned. "Ino's mad because Team Seven ended up getting a C-Rank mission Shikamaru." Turning to his friend, he simply plopped the chip into his waiting mouth. "…Isn't that the team Sasuke is on?" He asked after a moment. "Isn't it too early for a C-Rank?"

"Of course for Forehead," Ino said voice rising as she turned to her teammates. "But it's only natural that Sasuke-kun would get one early since he's the Rookie of the Year! He's not like you slackers who laze about all day." She said pressing her hands against her hips. Eye's narrowing; she glared at the two before her. "Shikamaru, the only thing you do all day is nap and play Shogi with Asuma-sensei, and Chouji, the only think you do is eat all day. At this rate, Forehead is going to run on pass me, and I refused to let that happen!" She said gritting her teeth.

"I thought you hated Sakura?" Shikamaru drawled as he pulled out a hand to yawn.

Attention snapping over to Shikamaru, Ino stopped in her tracks with the other two following suit. "Hate, no, I don't hate Forehead." She said with a frown. "I just **extremely** dislike her! But as much as I hate to admit it, she will get stronger since she has Sasuke-kun and Natsumi-chan on her team. I even heard that their sensei was personally trained by the Yondaime himself!" Resisting the urge to pull her beautiful hair less she damages it, she simply ground her foot into the ground instead. "How could she **not** get stronger with teammates like those?"

Blinking the tears from his eyes, Shikamaru simply turned his attention towards Ino. _'Well…she does got a point there.'_ While he doesn't know much about their Sensei, Sakura would most likely train if it meant impressing Sasuke. And if he remembered correctly, she had some sort of one-sided rivalry with Natsumi stating that she was trying to take the Uchiha's attention away from her. The fact that Sasuke actually does pay attention to her due to Natsumi's strength would mean that Sakura would try her hardest at training if it meant getting Sasuke's attention away from Natsumi and onto her. And that's not even including the fact that Natsumi seemed to want to outdo the Uchiha at every turn with said Uchiha responding in kind at getting a challenge. _'…All woman are troublesome.'_

"Ino, since you said that Sasuke's team are strong enough to take on a C-Rank," Chouji started. "Why are you mad about them going on one?" He asked a bit confused.

Narrowing her gaze, she turned her attention to Chouji before sighing after a moment. "I know they're more than strong enough for one, but them getting a C-Rank isn't why I'm mad." Crossing her arms, she simply puffed her cheeks with a scowl. "I'm madder at the fact that the C-Rank with more than likely takes them **outside** of the village for a while. And I'm worried about what Forehead would do to my precious Sasuke-kun while I'm stuck here dawdling about with D-Ranks." Biting back another sigh, she simply shook her head. "Why can't Forehead be like Tetsumi-san and find someone else that can bother looking at her ridiculously wide forehead?" Stopping for a moment, she blinked before turning to Shikamaru and Chouji with a smile. "Oh, and speaking of Tetsumi-san, did you know that she recently got a boyfriend?"

Blinking, Chouji crumpled the empty bag he had and pocketed it before pulling out another from his vest. "Tetsumi-san…ah, wait, she got a Boyfriend?" Chouji said eye's widening slightly as he snapped open the bag of chips. "Didn't she keep away from nearly entire group of boy's in our class?" Kokoro wasn't exactly their friend, more of an acquaintance to him and Shikamaru with how much Ino tried bringing her into the group. He wouldn't have minded being friends with her though. She was nice, shy, but nice. She never called him fat like all the other kids in the Academy.

"I know, right?" Ino giggled. "I was as surprised as you were when I saw them together! And I have to say, being around him made her a lot less shy than she was in the Academy!"

As for Shikamaru, he simply narrowed his eyes in thought at that bit of info. If anything, Kokoro was the least troublesome in the class along with Hinata. Despite the fact that they're both quiet and soft-spoken, Hinata was a lot less shy than Kokoro was having been in the company of Natsumi for most of their Academy years. A big plus was that they didn't have a crush on the resident Uchiha making them more tolerable. The fact that she seemed to be hiding things along with being his own personal Ino Deflection Shield whenever she got chatty had nothing to do with it. "…Do you know the guy's name?" Shikamaru asked putting his own two cents into the conversation.

Blinking in shock, she turned to stare at Shikamaru in the eye. Genuinely surprised that he actually asked something regarding a girl, "…His name was Uzumaki Naruto." She replied carefully putting Shikamaru's interest away for later.

Eye's snapping open at that name, he frowned. "As in the Yondaime's son," He asked her eye's narrowing.

"He's the Yondaime's what now?" Ino asked confused.

Palming his face, he simply shook his head before explaining. "Uzumaki Naruto, resident son of the Yondaime Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina, twin brother to the Kunoichi of the Year Namikaze Natsumi." He explained. _'The same Uzumaki Naruto who's rumored to have been involved with the disappearances of dozens of villagers throughout the years, local title being __**Jigoku no Akuma Koukatsuna-Ouji, **__and reason as to why several students both in their early and final years in the Shinobi Academy dropped out.'_ Yeah, safe to say he had a history.

"I didn't know Natsumi had a brother." Chouji said frowning.

Nodding in agreement, Ino frowned to, but didn't question what Shikamaru said. Lazy oaf he is, Shikamaru is usually right when he say's something. "If Natsumi had a brother, why didn't he go the Academy with her?"

"Alright, I think it's time for the talking-behind-my-back-thing to stop now." Letting out a slight squeak in shock, Ino turned around only to face Naruto's bemused face. "And to answer your question my nosy blonde companion…it's because I couldn't care less about being a Shinobi." The flat look in his eyes told them that continuing it would be a bad idea.

"A-ah, hello Naruto-san," Ino laughed a bit flustered at being caught in the act of gossiping about someone with said person hearing every single word. "You're not out here with Tetsumi-san?" She asked.

Eye's flickering towards the other two, his lips simply twitched in amusement as the Nara simply narrowed his eyes at him. Turning his attention back to Ino in a moment, he shook his head. "I was with her until an hour ago actually, but some things came up and I walked her back home."

"Awe, that's sweet-wait, you know where she lives already?!" She asked shock evident in her tone.

"It wouldn't do well for me to just let her walk back on her own." Naruto said with a small frown. "Middle of the day or not, even though I know she can take care of herself, I still worry." For good reason to now that he thinks about it. _'Come to think of it, it's strange for the villagers to be all hate and pathetic for years on end only to ignoring and ignorant in less than a day.'_

"That's pretty nice of you." Chouji commented briefly. "My name is Akimichi Chouji," Turning to his slouching friend, he frowned when all Shikamaru did was stare. "This is my friend Shikamaru."

Nodding, he turned back to Ino with a brief smile. "Uzumaki Naruto," He replied curtly. "But more importantly, what's this about Natsumi receiving a C-Rank Mission?"

Blinking, Ino frowned in confusion. "I know that I just found out that you're Natsumi-chan's brother, but she didn't tell you? They already left the village a couple hours ago."

Smile dropping into a soft frown, he simply shook his head. "No…she didn't tell me…" And for some reason, despite their relationship being rocky at best, he wondered why that seemed to send a pang of hurt through his chest.

* * *

_**(With Natsumi)**_

* * *

Sneezing briefly, Natsumi turned around back towards the direction of the village in confusion. Staring for a bit, she couldn't help but wonder if she forgot about something. Something important…

* * *

_**(?-**__**Afternoon)**_

* * *

Detached brown eyes staring at the sunset in disinterest, he simply kept his position on the tree branch in boredom. Nothing had happened in a while, and for some reason, he got the feeling that he wouldn't feel that strange pulse of energy for a **good** while. It didn't bother him, but with nothing to actually keep his attention, he simply sat their content with staring blankly into the sky.

"Oi, how long are you going to stay up there?" Ear's twitching, he craned his head forward looking down towards the ground beneath. A bulky man standing right in front of his tree with a wearily annoyed expression on his face, there was more, much more, but he simply closed his eyes feeling a yawn coming on. "We've got another job, so get down from there already!"

Eyes still closed, he leaned back against the tree with a sigh. "Who else…?"

Lips twitching into a frown, the man shook his head. "Just you and me this time unfortunately…" _'Or fortunately…is what you'd be thinking.'_

"…Where?"

"Nami no Kuni," Eyes slowly opening mid-way, he turned his attention back towards where he remembered the land to be. What's more, it was right in the direction the pulse from earlier came from. Tilting his head to the side, his fingers twitched. "…When?"

"Today."

* * *

_**A/N: Ah...I hope you liked the chapter...and please review your thoughts and questions. And just to let you know...I changed up the poll...on my profile...and added another option for those...who are curious.**_


	20. Chapter 19

_**Ah...I do not own Naruto...but all original ideas are mine.**_

_**Chapter 19**_

* * *

**A/N: Ah...Sorry about being so long with the chapter...and that it might be a bit short. But I hope you like it all the same...but before I continue. I will say this...as none of the Original Characters are Author Inserts...and will always be Original Characters.**

**Mejciu: Ah...Naruto will be learning different Magik...but later on during the Chunin Exam Arc. And I've got something special planned about that!**

**thor94: No...no one hired Naruto...or will be able to do to the fact that he is not a Shinobi. He will go because he wants to...and due to the fact that he has a high case of paranoia thinking that the mission would go wrong...which I kinda did already in canon...and I'm just messing with it even more!**

* * *

"…Are you sure this is the right course of action Hokage-sama?" Cerulean blue eyes drifting away from the file on his desk, he frowned. "You do know that this is going to bite you back on the ass, right?" Inoichi commented with a flat stare.

Returning it in kind, Minato simply sighed when Inoichi broke off moments later. "I can already see Kushina ripping me a new one when she finds out about this." And she was going to enjoy it.

"When, not if Hokage-sama…?" The Yamanaka Head asked with twitching lips.

Shivering slightly, Minato glared at the man who was trying to hide a bemused smile. "When it comes to Kushina, you don't hide. You just pray to whatever Kami you know to strike you down then and there before she gets her hands on you." And if he wasn't sure she wouldn't bring him back from the dead, he'd actually consider it. She's beautiful like that, frightingly horrifying, but beautiful all the same. "So before my untimely, yet brutal demise, mind giving me a review of the plan again." He suggested airily.

Breaking out in a brief chuckle, Inoichi simply nodded. "The plan was for you to send your daughter and her team on a C-Rank mission to Nam no Kuni in which you thoroughly investigated its current financial situation and history of the Clients Background. You've set it up in which Team 10 would come to the Hokage Tower the moment you assigned them the mission and anticipated the fact that one Haruno Sakura would brag to my daughter, Yamanaka Ino about getting said C-Rank due to their rivalry over the Uchiha boy." Scowling in distaste at that little tidbit of information, he sent a scathing glare towards the Yondaime in which he simply smiled passively. "You then had their Jounin-sensei Sarutobi Asuma unknowingly send them off right into one Uzumaki Naruto's direction whose location you received from the ANBU situated around the village only hours subsequently to Team 7's departure from the village. But not before reminding them that sharing information of C-Ranks and above is not to be shared with Civilians as to keep her from telling Uzumaki Naruto. You kept that tidbit of info away from Team 10. You then predicted that Yamanaka Ino would either divulge this information to him or Uzumaki Naruto would subsequently over hear it and ask them about it without any hesitation thus bringing him into the fold." Stopping for a moment, he took a short breath of air before turning to face his Hokage. "Now then, mind telling me what will happen next and as to **why** Hokage-sama?"

A frown tugging at his lips, he picked up the file on his desk, and flipped it open. The first thing he sees being a picture of his son taken discreetly while he was walking around the village with one Tetsumi Kokoro. _'I wonder what sort of relationship she has with him.'_ He pondered briefly. "…I expect **and** know that he would simply leave the village after them." Eye's drifting down towards the information provided, he smiled mirthlessly. "And as for why I believe he would, it's because he's…" They were both unaware of the blood red eyes that flickered briefly on the corners of the room.

* * *

_**(With Ashe)**_

* * *

'_That idiot's going to get himself mauled when Naruto finds out about this.'_ Ashe muttered inwardly. Eye's drifting around, she flexed her fingers testily before smiling.

It's been a good while since she had an actual body. The feeling of her soft skin was warm to the touch, and the sound of her beating heart was as soothing as she remembered. _'A beating heart…is a healthy heart.'_ Was what that idiot always said…though being the contradictory asshole he was, he was able to simply regrow one time and time and again.

Feeling a nervous pair of eyes on her, she turned around with a teasing grin as Kokoro simply stared in confusion. Even if the fact that she was sitting on a giant black shelled tortoise with blue outlined hexagonal plates and ash grey skin with gleaming yellow eyes deserved more attention. As to why she was on it…well, they were on a lake after all.

"You know you don't have to be nervous around me, right?" Ashe asked her in bemusement.

Flustering slightly at her question, she nodded hesitantly after a moment. "Are you really…" Her voice trailing off, Kokoro's eyes drifted towards the silent Naruto who was standing above the epicenter of the lake. A contemplative expression on his face telling her that he was concentrating on something…on what, she didn't know.

Following her gaze, Ashe simply giggled at what she was worried about. Stretching out her index finger, her smile softened as the tip brightened a dim, but bright white light getting Kokoro's attention. Tracing her finger around in the air, she formed a simple sentence made of light that hovered in the air.

Staring at it for herself, Kokoro simply let out a soft sigh of relief as the sentence dissipated into small glowing fireflies. Watching as they vanished into the sky, she turned towards Ashe with a bright smile. Something she returned in kind.

"Oh good, you're both getting along." Turning at the sound of Naruto's voice, Ashe tilted her head forward with a small teasing grin.

"Ah~, of course we would~!" Ashe sang in a sing song tone. "After all I've heard about your precious Usagi-chan, how could I not!" She asked rhetorically, her eyes drifting knowingly to the young brown haired girl making her flush. "On another note, what have you figured out so far?" She asked turning back to the blonde with a raised brow.

Sweat dripping down his chin, Naruto simply grimaced. "Not as much as I'd hoped." He muttered. "The scents lingering in the air tell me that Natsumi and her minions have passed by this area not long ago, a day or two at least. There was a fourth, and by the smell of it, a wrinkly old man that smelled heavily of booze." Nose twisting at it, he huffed through it attempting to get the scent out. Looking around the area, he eyed the twisting trees all around the lake on the shores and frowned. "There was hardly any blood, but from what I have found, one seems to belong to Ero-Inu while the other was deeply dipped in iron." Probably someone who had too much blood on their hands…not that Ero-Inu was any different, but his seemed to be more focused around his hands. The enemy smelled entirely of blood like he bathed in the stuff. "Other than that, the only thing left would be the lingering scents of…ice…?" Did that mean the enemy had a bloodline user on his side?

Lips twitching into a smile, Ashe nodded after a couple moments. "I'll give you a three out of ten." She said. "Not good, but not horribly bad considering it's you're first time."

Tilting her head to the side in confusion, Kokoro frowned. "Naruto…how do you know all that…?" This happened a couple hours prior to their arrival…didn't it?

Eye's squinting in thought, Naruto turned to Kokoro wondering how to explain it exactly. Frowning, he turned to Ashe with a smile making her eyes twitch. After a couple more seconds, she conceded. "What Naruto did would be the basics of a small technique called **Kaisō no Sekai.**"

"Recollecting…World?" Kokoro mumbled translating it.

Nodding, Ashe pushed her thin wired glasses she got from who knows where up the bridge of her nose with a single tut. "That right, **Kaisō no Sekai** is similar to the Uzumaki's **Kagura no Me,** or Eye of the Kagura in simple terms. The only difference is that while the **Kagura no Me** can sense all things related to Chakra from a large diameter, and even figure out what they're feeling just by their Chakra, the **Kaisō no Sekai** is a technique that relies on one's affinity with the natural elements to see and feel they're surroundings." Stopping for a moment to see if they were following along, she continued. "One example would be someone having an affinity for Lightning, or anything related to the Electrical base of that matter. Someone like that using the **Kaisō no Sekai** can, and will be able to have a feel for the electrical currents that drifting around in the air. Those who are experienced in using it can even locate the tiniest leaf; even the slightest twitch of a vein or muscle won't escape its grasp. In easier terms, it's like creating a digital three dimensional map within your head. This map will show everything around you and will change the instant something moves. If you're opponent so much as twitches, it'll show with the **Kaisō no Sekai,** even if you are yards away from them. You will know." Pulling off her glasses, she nodded curtly. "The **Kaisō no Sekai,** however, is different depending on the element that's being used for the technique. They each have their own advantages over the other, as well as they're disadvantages, but all in all, that is basically part of the Fourth Step that I'm teaching Naruto." Turning towards said blonde boy, she frowned when she saw that Kokoro had a contemplative look on her face. "Is there anything wrong?"

Blinking once, Kokoro simply turned to face her with her own frown. "Didn't you just describe…the **Byakugan** the Hyuuga are known to have…?" She asked quietly.

Staring unblinkingly, Ashe shook her head. "While it would seem like that, I'd have to bluntly say no." She said. "The **Byakugan** is solely Doujutsu based, and is only able to see the living energies within all living things around them within a three-hundred and fifty-nine degree angle. If my explanation were to be compared, then all Sensory abilities would be similar to the Hyuuga's bloodline limit." Stopping for a moment, she looked around with a frown. "Let's say for an example that a Hyuuga who has mastered the ways of the **Byakugan** were to challenge someone who uses Electrical bases abilities for his **Kaisō no Sekai** in a Taijutsu match. Who do you think would win?" She asked turning to them, her thoughts turning grim. After hearing no response for a while, she sighed.

"Those white eyed pricks would get slaughtered before they came within three meters." Kurama drawled as he popped out from the lake below. "The **Kaisō no Sekai**, while basic at first, becomes an incredibly dangerous weapon when mastered by Electricity based user." His miraculously sexy form drenched with water, he grunted in annoyance as his form glinted an unnoticeable dim red. "A Hyuuga can kill with but a simple tap of their fingers making their Taijutsu one of the most lethal because of their speed and precision. But unfortunately for them, those of the Electrical group who mastered the **Kaisō no Sekai** would have also mastered a forbidden training exercise that goes with it." Now completely warm and dry, he grinned toothily ignoring the looks he's been garnering from the two brats. "As for why it's forbidden…well, while it would make them unparalleled when it comes' to close combat, one simple misstep or slack in concentration would lead to them being fried from the inside out. Instant Death! Barbecued! Roasted! You pick it, and they'd experienced it!" He laughed sadistically. "There's a difference from mastering the **Kaisō no Sekai**, and actually **mastering** it. As far as I know, there have only been three suicidal bitches that actually mastered the skill to their utmost peaks. And like I said," He cackled, eye's drifting towards a twitching female. "They were completely suicidal, both in combat and out of, the latter two actually getting that from the first."

'…_Well…that was informative.'_ Naruto thought sarcastically. The fox basically gave him the info, but yet gave him nothing at the same time. "So…what's that thing you have in your hand?" He asked with an annoyed hum.

Picking his teeth, he stopped and pulled his hand away so he could stare at the object he as using as a toothpick. "It's nothing of real importance really." He replied waving him off. "It's just piece of cracked iron, most likely coming from a broadsword of some sort." Staring at the triangular piece of metal, he simply shrugged before using it to pick at his fanged teeth once again. He had originally gone into the lake to get some lunch, as unappetizing fish is compared to meat, he was still hungry and wanted something to eat that did not come from the brats pack of food compromised of sandwiches, Onigiri's, and some dried fruit. He wanted meat dammit, and fish was as close as he was going to get! _'Well, at least this hunk of junk could be put to good use as a toothpick.'_ He grumbled.

Watching as this goes on, Ashe could only shake her head in exasperated annoyance at how the conversation derailed so much from their original topic. "Alright, now that we got the general gist of what the **Kaisō no Sekai** is and its uses, I'm having Naruto use his major affinity over the wind to catch any lingering scents around this area to try and find out what happened. I could go into more detail…but I get the feeling that we'd only get off topic again." She said glaring at a certain vulpine.

Shrugging at her stare, Kurama simply eyed the turtle that Kokoro was on with idle curiosity. Something that Naruto noticed might not be a good thing. "Ah…so, Natsumi's and her minion's heads off towards the north-west while the enemies vanished off into the north-east. Is there any villages nearby?" He said asking Kurama.

Eye's still on the turtle, he grunted. "That would be Nami no Kuni, a village just on the border of Mizu no Kuni."

Feeling a tad nervous at Kurama's stare…especially when it looks like it might contain a hungering glint in it, she nodded. "So…Natsumi-san and her team…are headed there…?" She asked earning a nod from Naruto.

"Oi, Usagi-gaki…can you make me a buffalo with those things."

* * *

_**(A Couple Hours Later—Nami no Kuni—With Natsumi)**_

* * *

"…Ah…I remember what I forgot now." Blinking once, twice, and trice times, she simply nodded. "I forgot to tell Naruto about my mission." That was not good.

Sweat dripping down her pale skin, Sakura simply turned to her self-proclaimed rival with a scowl. "And why would that be important?" Sakura deadpanned, irritation growing at the mention of that psychotic idiot. It didn't help the fact that she was sweating to much from climbing up the stupid trees up and down. _'I can already do this perfectly, so why the hell should I continue when I could be spending my valuable time asking Sasuke-kun on a date, __**CHAAA!'**_ And with that, she turned back to glare at said tree just in time for an acorn to drop and crash into her face.

Staring blankly, Natsumi simply wondered why there was an acorn to begin with, but thought better of voicing it out. She didn't want to deal with Sakura's screaming right now. Especially with the Naruto problem she was having. "It's important because I'm **finally** making some headway in improving my relationship with him." Natsumi replied with a grimace. "The fact that I didn't tell him that I'd mostly be gone for a couple weeks would have him wondering where I would have gone and worry like crazy."

"Ma, ma," Kakashi chuckled from above, his form shifting against the bark of the tree on the branch he was sitting on. "The mission parameters were only a C-Rank, so I'm sure it wouldn't be that bad." He drawled lazily.

"A C-Rank that quickly escalated into A-Rank just hours from leaving the village," Natsumi deadpanned. "And I may have only **just **scratched the surface of getting to know my brother, but one thing I figured out about him is that he's extremely paranoid." Paranoid might be a bit too weak a word though.

Eye's crinkling into a smile, Kakashi simply hummed. "I'm sure it's not that bad." He stated lazily repeating his last phrase.

"He's paranoid enough to think of the type of situation we're currently in with just the words C-Rank and worse." Was Natsumi's reply, "And he'll likely come out of the village in search of me."

"I'm sure Minato-sensei would talk to him." Pity he didn't know Minato orchestrated this.

"And you think he'll listen." She asked rhetorically, her brows rose in minor annoyance as she got back up on her feet. "He's more likely to listen to you, and he hates your guts for some reason!"

Blinking, Kakashi turned away from his book, albeit a tad forcefully as he really wanted to know what happened between Koko-kun and Natsuto-kun. They seemed like they seriously wanted to kill each other in the last chapter. With Narumi-chan in the hospital due to the sudden appearance of a new enemy, and with Natsuto blaming Koko for it happening while the normally meek Koko took offence to that for some reason. Probably a backstory to that, but the drama and tension is really eating at him, even more so now that he remembered the current problem at hand that would need to have his attention away from his precious book only to focus on the fact that they're might be a homicidally insane teenager on his way into a literally dying country with an army of bandits and an A-Rank, possibly two, still running around the area under the command of a corrupt business midget. "Yeah…when you put it that way…we might just have a problem." But then again, if he play's things right, he could probably sick the demented multi-haired child onto Gato with some dastardly twisted truths so he could get some more reading time.

Sasuke however, simply stared at the two with his usual stony expression, a mild glint of interest showing in his onyx eyes as they spoke about Natsumi's brother. He was a bit disappointed that he didn't see how the fight between Kakashi and him would have gone since the Hatake retreated, but it left him a new set of questions rather than answers. One being, _'Why did Kakashi, a Jounin, retreat from a civilian when he could have simply knocked him out in an instant?'_ The only answer he could figure was that Naruto was by far **not** a simple civilian. And **that**, made him curious to know just how strong he really is compared to the Rookie of the Year.

"…Natsumi," Sasuke started with a scowl. "How strong is the dope?" He asked bluntly.

Turning to the Uchiha with a frown, she glared for a moment before thinking about it. She's never really seen him fight before, the only time being the night she teamed up with him and Kokoro-chan to take down Mizuki. But from what she did see…"I…don't know." Natsumi answered with a frown. "Like I said…I don't really know him very well."

Sighing inwardly, Sakura simply sent Natsumi a quizzical stare, her irritation all but dissipating from the small break they seem to be having. "But he's your brother, right?" She asked curiously. "So shouldn't you be close since your twins and all?"

Frown deepening into a small scowl, she resisted the urge to glare at her knowing that she was right. But before she could reply, Kakashi said, "Not all family have to be close Sakura, there being many examples of this fact." He drawled his lone eyed drifting towards the Uchiha. "In fact, there are even families that outright hate each other." Ignoring the Uchiha's bristling glare, Kakashi turned back to his book. "The only reason why Naruto probably doesn't hate or dislike you is because you were never close to him to begin with." He added with a chirp. "If I remember correctly, I even despised my own father when I was young." Oh~ the memories! Oh, look, he's got the students interest again, now let's leave it at that to rack up some mystery points that a certain blonde imp mercilessly destroyed.

Glaring at his Cyclops of a sensei with Uchiha Glare Number Eighty-eight, with extra piercing effect, he simply grunted in annoyance. "Kakashi-sensei…if I were to challenge the dope," He started slowly. "Who would win?" The least he could get is a bit of info about the dope, and comments from a Jounin, perverted Cyclops or not, would be valuable to calculate how he would stack up to him.

"Who know?" Kakashi replied airily, no longer having the energy to continue the conversation. _'Ah…so Koko-kun has some kind of past with this mystery foe, interesting!'_ Jiraiya-sama, you are a Novel Writing Genius!

"Ne, Natsumi-san," A feminine voice called, his reading time once again interrupted. But for Natsumi, seeing her sensei's eye tick was enough for her to snicker before turning to the daughter of their client.

She was a woman who stood at a height of '5'01'' with long dark blue hair with her bangs framing the side of her angular face. She had dark brown eyes and a lightly tanned complexion. Sporting a short sleeved pink shirt with the rims of the sleeves and collar being a deep red, she wore a long blue skirt that stretched all the way towards her ankles. This is Tsunami, the daughter of the old man they were supposed to guard.

_'Hm…wonder what she needs.'_ "Is there something wrong Tsunami-san?" Natsumi asked curiously.

"Do you happen to know a boy with odd hair?" She asked.

"Odd hair...?" Blinking, Natsumi nearly instantly turned to a sudden duck butted teammate of her's. A teammate who simply glared back at her once he caught onto her meaning. Snickering, she turned back to Tsunami with a smile. "Depends, cause' I know a lot of boy's with funny hair." But the first that would come to mind…"Wait…would this boy happen to have a set of whiskers on his cheeks paired with eyes that make him look a bit like a fox?" She asked grabbing her team's attention.

Smiling in relief that she hadn't just talked to an enemy, she nodded. "Hai, I met with him while I was out buying groceries. He was such a nice boy and was asking around town if they saw a psychopathic ramen devouring tomato with piercing purple eyes that just screamed **"I SHALL DEVOUR YOUR SOUL!"**" Hearing a small thump, she turned to see Hatake-san sprawled on the ground with wide eyes, his attempts at breathing failing outright as tears leaked from his lone eye. "Hatake-san, are you alright?" She asked a tad worried. It didn't look like he was having easy time breathing. Maybe it was the mask?

Turning to the other two, she blinked when she saw Sakura stifling some giggles with her hand, failing outright. The quiet child, Sasuke, seemed to be looking away at the moment so she couldn't tell what his expression was. Turning to Natsumi, Tsunami frowned when she saw that Natsumi was simply smiling with a serene expression on her face.

"Ne, Tsunami-san, I don't think I heard my name in that." She said with a shake of her head. "So how did you know he was talking about me?" Natsumi asked with a tilt of her head, curiosity lacing her tone as her eyes closed shut.

Looking confused for a moment at what she meant; Tsunami smiled in realization before pulling something out from her pocket. "Your right, he didn't really give me your name, but he did give me something else that told me it was you." Eye's opening, Natsumi moved towards Tsunami's side, curious about the paper that she brought out. Sakura, and begrudgingly Sasuke, also a tad curious, followed right behind. And what they saw brought Sakura into a fit of cooing snickers while Sasuke simply stared for a couple moments before grunting and walking away.

Natsumi, Natsumi was simply staring in horror as her cheeks lit up in shades several times darker than her hair. Why was she screaming in horror…well, not screaming, but you get the point. The reason for her act of snapping the picture out of Tsunami's hands and ruthlessly tearing it to pieces was because it was a photo of her as a five year old wearing a pair of deep red fox footie pajamas, complete with a black tipped tail and a hood with a pair of twitching black tipped fox ears.

If it was just that, then she'd only feel mildly tempted to tear off her brother's head, but the fact that he somehow had a copy of the photo she thought she had eradicated including the copies her parents had made got her wondering just how many other embarrassing photos of her the psycho might have. She would be wondering exactly **how** he got the photos when they had never even talked to each other at that age, but right now, she was too mortified about the possible blackmail Naruto has on her.

Giggling at her expression, Sakura gave her a twitching smile. "C'mon Natsumi-san, I think it's cute!" She said before erupting into another fit of giggles. "Or should I start calling you Kitsune-chan?"

Turning to glare at her, Natsumi simply turned to the last member of her team and frowned when all he was doing was staring right back at her. Not backing down, she simply froze when be smirked before turning away. "Don't fall behind…Kitsune-chan." He mocked in amusement.

Staring blankly as the Uchiha walked away, Natsumi decided. She was going to main the Uchiha. She was going to string him up by his jewels before slowly maiming him with his beloved tomatoes. But first, she was going to catch a fox. "**AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH,"** And apparently, her dear brother had already written a will!

* * *

_**(With Naruto—a Couple Minutes Prior)**_

* * *

Freezing, blue eyes shivered as if the cold hand of death touched his spirit. Jerking his head around, Naruto frowned nervously when all he saw were the mangled bodies of the bandits that were so **gracious** as to give him directions.

Hearing a low groan, he simply clicked his tongue in annoyance before slamming his foot down on the cushion below. Ignoring the snapping of a neck, he hummed in soft annoyance. While he wouldn't mind killing these bugs for all the trouble they've caused and **will** cause in the future if left alive, he'd rather not put the scent of blood on him for the moment.

Ero-Inu, while a shameless pervert, has a nose better than that of an Inuzuka's. And with the Uchiha living through his families massacre, it's possible that he's gotten used to the scent of blood and would probably trace its distinct odor on him the moment he revealed himself.

Humming in annoyance after a moment's silence, he turned back to what he was doing and blinked. The bandit he was holding tightly around the neck with his right hand had all but passed out frothing against the wall. The trash was still alive, but instead of crushing his neck between his fingers like he know he should, he decided not to by dropping the fools limp body onto the ground.

Wiping his hands along the walls, he walked out of the alleyway with a smile. For even though he left them alive, following them back to their base would be better as it'll be the time they'll all die. "So you didn't kill them after all." Kurama noted as he appeared by his side

Turning to meet the fox in the eye, Naruto frowned. "While it'd give me something to pass the time, I'd rather not spend it hunting bug after bug when I can simply exterminate the whole lot of them in one swoop." Turning around, he eyed the broken bodies that littered the floor with a flat expression. "Though with the injuries I gave them, they probably won't wake for a couple more hours. Afterwards, they'll go to they'll simply go to their employer being none the wiser while I follow them from behind."

Nodding at the simple idea, Kurama frowned in annoyance. "Not that I'm unwelcoming a soon to come bloodbath, by why are you going after the midget?" He asked in a bored tone. Hey, while killing was killing to him, squashing insect after insect is just annoying. It'd be much more enjoyable if they're enemies that proved to be a challenge before they're torn down like the flesh bags they are.

Turning away from the alley, Naruto smiled. "He's no doubt a midget, but he's a midget with a lot of money. And while I could care less about that, this world of ours runs on it." Taking out the wallets and bags filled with bills and coins that he pilfered from the bandits, he nodded before putting them away. "And it's better to have some left over just in case something unexpected happens." _'Ah…I wonder if that Tsunami woman gave Aka-hime the message yet.'_ He pondered, thoughts drifting off the photo he gave the woman.

No doubt it's been destroyed, but he's made copies of several of them, so it's okay. And as for why he has a photo like that to begin with when his relationship with the Namikaze's are zilch to none…well, it was when he was more naïve. He snuck away with some photos that were taken during the time he lived with the Namikaze's. Made him feel as if he was part of something for a while, but that phase quickly passed by once he figured that there would never be any family photos with him in the picture. Though that doesn't mean he didn't keep taking them, it's good to have blackmail from time to time after all.

"Ah…what do you think Ashe is doing with Usagi-chan?" Naruto asked Kurama.

"Don't know, don't care," Kurama yawned with a scowl. "But what I do know is that this place is a dump." Literally, the buildings were cracked, the floor was littered with trash and homeless folk of all ages, and if you look carefully enough**—well, not really—**you could see dead bodies of some of the villagers rotting in the passing alleys.

It reminded him of something, but he just can't put his finger on it. _'Ah…that's right…'_ Well…there's nothing he can actually do at the moment. _'I can always just go and kill Gato right now.'_ He pondered the thought for a moment, only to shake his head.

For one thing, he has no idea where the slime ball is. And another is that he won't be able to locate said slime ball either. He's barely gotten into using the wind to sense his environment, and there are too many conflicting senses within the town that masks the trails to Gato's maggot cave. So for the time being, waiting and following those insects from before once they awaken is all he can do.

Then again…"Kurama…how good are you at interrogation?" A demonic grin was all he needed to see. **"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH,"** A grin that quickly dissolved into a look of confusion as the pained screeching sounded in the air.

Staring pointingly at the fox turned human for a couple moments, he let out a soft hum when Kurama shrugged. "Wasn't me." He said flatly. _'Though judging from the scent…'_ Canines lengthening, he bit back a sardonic laugh. _'To think that they would come out of hiding after so long…!'_ If they were to meet Naruto, what would happen?

Turning towards the source of the scream, Naruto missed the look of annoyance that flickered on his companions face. But he did notice the look of terrified resignation coming from the adults around them _'Ah…guess they know something about it.'_ Feeling something hop on his shoulders, he turned and smiled. A fanged vulpine grin, albeit a bloodthirsty one, was Kurama's reply.

Staring at the fox curling up on his shoulders, tail wrapped cozily around his neck, Naruto simply hummed in thought before vanishing in a swirl of wind, a tint of red flickering along the breeze. Reappearing within a canopy of trees, Naruto could only recoil in shock as a bombardment of scents overwhelmed his senses. Flashes of black and red as the scent of blood and iron bathed his surroundings in its repulsive odor.

Sight blurring for a couple moments; he bit down on the insides of his cheeks, hard enough to tear as the sudden pain prevented him from retching. Blood filling his mouth, he steadied himself on a nearby tree as his sight slowly began to clear. _'K-k…Kurama…what was that?'_ Naruto asked wearily.

Flicking his tail against Naruto's nose, Kurama cackled. **"That was me being a complete ass."** He said with a fanged grin. **"The Spirit Contract did more than just give us the ability to finally fucking stretch our legs in dry land Gaki."** Tail pointing towards the red trinket around his neck, Kurama said, **"Wipe that stupid look off your face Gaki and listen."**

"…But this is how I always look." He deadpanned brows twitching.

Staring, Kurama shrugged. **"Sucks to be you than ain't it, but enough talking about how stupid you look."** Hey. **"That magnificently awesome gift that you have around you're scrawny little twig you call a neck is something the great Kurama-sama has gifted you with! And its name is the Kyūbi no Hōseki, or in your tongue, the Nine Tailed Gem." **Ear's twitching, Kurama's grin widened, **"Not only is it the symbol of your contract with me, but is passes on some of abilities when used, some passive, and others requiring it to be activated. Right now, the only things you're getting from me are the enhanced senses of a Kitsune."**

"Oh," Was Naruto's only ever intelligent response.

Staring, Kurama simply palmed his paw in between Naruto's eyes making him blink. **"Oh, is that it? I swear sometimes you're smarter than your average amoeba, yet most of the time you revert to fucking plankton."** Kurama said with a small sigh. Rolling his eyes, his ears twitched. **"The reason for your little panic attack seconds prior was because of the heavy amount of blood and rot that's filling the fucking atmosphere around here."**

"Then why isn't it bothering you?"

**"I'm awesome like that."** He grinned. **"But really, now's a good time for you to get some practice in, because whatever is the cause of this is most likely going to be in the center of it all."** Flicking the teen's nose with his tail, Kurama laughed. **"Not only will you get some experience practicing with the Kaisō no Sekai, but you'll get better at concentrating if you do it in a disadvantaged environment with restrictions placed on you brat!"**

Rolling his eyes in annoyance, a frown tugged at his lips. Before he could actually say anything, the fox said, **"The sooner you do it, the more time you have before Aka-Chibi gets there."** Mouth shutting, Naruto simply grumbled before looking on ahead. The miasma of blood and iron lingering in the air made him want to retch, and he would gladly walk away to take a nice long bath than deal with it. But the fox was right. No doubt his Aka-hime heard that scream to, and is probably running over here right now.

So the sooner he kills the thing, the sooner he can get this over with. "You're going to make my training hell, aren't you?" He asked rhetorically.

But Kurama answered anyway with a sadistic grin. **"You don't know the half of it fishcake."**

"…I hate you."

**"I love me to!"**

* * *

**A/N: Ah...I hope you liked the chapter...but right now I'm feeling a bit bored...so I'm going to give out a question...and if the question is answered...I will put in a sneak peak. The question is this...**

**Who are the first three masters of the Kaisō no Sekai?**

**...How far the sneak peak goes depending on how many you get right. If you answer the first one, you get a sneak peak that occurred day's later. You answer two...a sneak peak at the start of the Chunin Exams...you answer all three...and it will be at the end of the Chunin Exams...which will be quite long with what I'm planning! Ah...and you can either pm me your answer or put it in the review!**

**...Ah...and before I forget...this will be the last notice of me mentioning the poll I have on my profile. For those who are interested and have yet to vote...cast your vote before Twenty-Second of September.**


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